The following notices were given:

Mr Warwick Smith to present a Bill for an Act to provide financial assistance for the period of 5 years starting on 1 July 1998 in respect of health care services.

Mr McClelland to move—

That this House:

(1) notes that the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) proposes to ship consignments of used research reactor fuel back to countries of origin for reprocessing;

(2) notes that the shipping operation will mean that such consignments of used research reactor fuel will be transported through suburban streets;

(3) calls upon the Minister for the Environment to conduct a full environmental impact statement procedure under the provisions of the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act to enable full and proper public input into issues relating to the transportation of used research reactor fuels including (a) ensuring that (i) the spent fuel is properly packaged, (ii) each package is properly certified as meeting all relevant international and national regulations for safe transport of radioactive materials including the Australian code of practice for the safe transport of radioactive substances and (iii) there is proper coordination between all regulating authorities for the shipment and (b) the extent to which Australia's international obligations restrict publication of transportation routes;

(4) further notes that there remains unresolved complex issues of liability as to which authority would be responsible for compensating any private citizen in the event of an accident during the course of such transportation; and

(5) calls upon the Government to assume strict liability in respect of the consequences of any such spillage which may affect an Australian citizen.

Mr Sawford to move—

That this House calls on the Government to:

(1) recognise that the largely single option of a comprehensive high school system in this country is inappropriate for a majority of students at a secondary level and that this fact often leads to a perception that the public secondary school system does not meet the needs of parents and students; and

(2) encourage through differential funding a range of types of public secondary schools that among others would include a re-evaluation of single sex and technical high schools.

Mr Robert Brown to move—

That the House of Representatives:

(1) declares its total opposition to a goods and services tax (GST) and notes that:

(a) as an indirect tax any GST would be seriously regressive and would impact most severely on low and middle income earners because (i) a GST would be imposed at a flat rate on purchases irrespective of the income or wealth of the purchaser and thus lower income earners would pay a higher proportion of their income in the form of the tax than would higher income earners, (ii) a GST is imposed on what people spend, not on what they save, and thus lower income earners who have to spend most of their income are forced to pay tax on a larger proportion of their income than high income earners who are able to save more and avoid the tax, (iii) a GST which must be regressive would replace part of direct income tax which is structured at a progressive rate to ensure greater equity by taxing higher incomes at a higher rate, (iv) the revenue from a GST which is largely paid by low and middle income earners would be used to compensate for the reduced personal income tax which would be paid by high income earners who would benefit from any reduction in the higher marginal tax rates and (v) a flat rate GST would impose retail taxes on a wide range of basic household purchases which ordinary Australian families need while, at the same time, reducing the rates of tax imposed on the purchases of the rich such as furs, jewellery and luxury cars;

(b) a GST would have an adverse economic impact because (i) it would increase the inflation rate by increasing the prices of all goods and services to which it was applied, (ii) higher prices would translate into higher interest rates with adverse impact on home buyers, small business and farmers, (iii) an unfair burden of administration, record keeping and tax collecting would be imposed on about one million retail and service outlets across Australia and (iv) higher prices, higher interest rates and increased administration would stifle enterprise and discourage small business production and employment;

(c) a GST is not necessary to achieve sensible reform of the taxation system which can be achieved by such measures as the (i) removal of anomalies in the present wholesale sales tax system, (ii) adjustment of marginal tax rates to eliminate the incidence of bracket creep and ensure that all tax increases are discretionary and transparent, (iii) elimination of tax law provisions which have allowed the rorting of the tax system as high income earners and corporations have been able to construct sophisticated and artificial arrangements to avoid their tax obligations and (iv) effective policing of the existing tax system to eliminate tax evasion by the shysters and prosecute those who persist; and

(d) experience in other countries which have adopted a GST indicates that (i) of 26 industrial countries with a GST the rate has been increased in all but three countries and the average rise was 42 per cent, (ii) a GST provides governments with an opportunity to increase the rate and extend its application thus imposing an ever increasing burden on the people, (iii) any arrangements built into the initial GST to compensate lower income earners are soon dissipated thus leaving those people—especially pensioners, other welfare recipients, single income families and the unemployed—with a continually declining defence against a continually increasing tax and (iv) core services such as education and health are effectively priced out of the reach of many low and middle income families often with appalling sectional impact;

(2) acknowledges that the main support for a GST comes from highly paid financiers, bureaucrats and other high income interests and from the corporate business community while the chief opposition comes from people and organisations, including church and welfare groups, which represent the broad mass of Australians;

(3) urges all Australians to reject any attempt to burden them with a GST and to condition them with the false claim that a GST is either inevitable or essential for Australia's economic wellbeing; and

(4) calls on the federal Government to abandon its push to introduce this discriminatory, regressive, unfair and unjust tax.