John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the parliamentary debate in September last year I referred to the impact that the carbon tax would have on the balance sheet of my local council and the flow-on effect to mums and dads in our community. Ryde City Council's largest expense is electricity with over 63 per cent for street lighting, which generates 39 per cent of their total greenhouse gas emissions. Local government does not receive compensation, so a carbon tax on their highest expense will mean that the council will need to find increased revenues to pay for it. The council's largest source of income is rates, which are locked in for the next four years under an agreement with the state government. I was mocked in this House by the opposite side for delivering the following words about the council's revenue:

The second highest source of revenue is from community tenants, primarily those using sport and recreational facilities. These tenants—the football and cricket clubs that local mums and dads take their kids to on weekends—will inevitably face a sharp increase in their costs, leading to major pass-through costs to those same mums and dads just for giving their kids some time to enjoy the Australian rite of organised sport at the local park or pool.

Not six months later, today's edition of the Weekly Times leads with the story 'Sports Fees Outrage':

Sporting groups are outraged by Ryde Council’s decision to jack up sporting ground hire charges by 25 per cent.

It would be levied on local sports associations, which are expected to pass on their charges to parents. Small schools which hire Ryde city sports grounds may also pass on the charges to increase school fees. In St Gerard's Netball Club mum Karen Stonnill was stunned to hear about the fee hike. She said:

We enjoy our sport so much but now we'll have to make choices about paying our mortgage and bills or playing sport.

And further:

If the bills also rise, sport will not be an option and my family will have to miss out.

I shudder to think of the long-term impact that these decisions will have on our nation's health and our health budget. I understand that local councils need to operate like a business. As a ratepayer we expect the balance sheet to add up. And if a great big, new cost is imposed on one side of the ledger, then more income must be found on the other side.

Before the carbon tax has even come into operation it is starting to hurt mums and dads in my local community. Small and large businesses, including local councils, need to plan ahead. It takes time for new processes and pricing arrangements to be implemented.

I urge this government to plan ahead, to look at the devastating consequences this carbon tax is already starting to have on every level of our community for no environmental gain—and to dump this toxic tax! Or, as Yusuf Islam, also known as Cat Stevens, once sang: Where Do the Children Play?