Mrs MOYLAN (4:49 PM) —One of the great benefits of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 5) 2000 is that it recognises the challenge faced by people with a disability of maintaining maximum mobility. More than 3.5 million Australians, representing 19 per cent of the total pop-ulation, have a disability. Improving ac-cessibility to transport will be welcomed by many who are wheelchair bound. There are many challenges for people with a disability, and mobility can be their main lifeline to being able to fully participate in community life. Vehicles for people with a disability re-quiring wheelchair access most often have to be modified to a standard appropriate to their needs. This amendment allows goods used in modifications to be purchased free of sales tax. It therefore overcomes an inconsistency in the sales tax treatment of modifications to vehicles to adapt them for driving by, or the transporting of, disabled persons.

The government made the announcement to amend this law in November last year, and the amendment will apply to any dealing on or after 26 June 1998—the date the New South Wales government announced the release of 400 additional wheelchair accessible taxi licences. This amendment will encourage the supply of purpose-built vehicles for disabled people. In particular, it will provide for the requirements of disabled participants, and indeed spectators, at the Sydney Paralympic Games later this year. It has particular application to taxis designed for transporting wheelchair bound passengers. The measure will apply to both vehicles designed for driving by a person who has a physical impairment and vehicles designed for the transportation of a person with a physical impairment.

This is a welcome amendment, given that the Paralympic Games are so close and are drawing near very quickly. There is a critical need to ensure adequate transportation for people with a disability. This is a very good measure for, as I said, participants and spectators who are wheelchair bound. I am sure that many people in this place have in the past seen the sheer determination and courage of Paralympic participants. Those performances have thrilled all of us that have watched them either at the event or on TV. We certainly look forward to being able to witness similar outstanding performances at the Sydney games.

In recognition of the importance of people with a disability having access to a full range of facilities in the community, the Minister for Family and Community Services announced the Gold Medal Disability Access Strategy. This is also a very welcome announcement. The aim of this initiative is to raise the awareness of the Australian business community in particular to the benefits of improving access to facilities, goods and services for people with a disability in the four key areas of employment, tourism, premises and transport. There is no doubt that we have really made very good progress in considering people with a disability in many of these areas. Often it takes not a great deal of expense but a little extra thought to consider people with a disability when planning buildings, services and facilities. The demand for disability friendly services and facilities will naturally increase during the Paralympic Games, with the influx of a large number of visitors. It is pleasing to see this initiative and the amendments to taxation which benefit people with a disability. Despite the great progress that we have made in making provision for people with a disability in the community, we still seem to have quite a long way to go. However, with the cooperation of governments at all levels and of private enterprise, the quality of life of people with a disability can be improved significantly.

One of the other parts of this bill is employee shareholding. This is a subject that has been really dear to my heart since I came into this parliament in 1993. I came in with a commitment to small business and I believe that any measure that would increase employee investment in industry would pay dividends in terms of unlocking an additional source of capital, job satisfaction and a sense of ownership by many employees in many companies. We have seen some spectacular successes in this area, and in fact one of those was a West Australian company. More and more businesses, large and small, have recognised the benefits of employee shareholding schemes and it makes good sense to have people employed in a business also own a stake in the business. It is therefore important that our laws do not unintentionally, or indeed intentionally, deter employees from such schemes. So this part of the bill seeks to provide an alternative method for determining market value where shares or unlisted rights are acquired by an employee in association with a public offer of shares in a listed public company.

The market value of a listed share or right is determined by reference to the weighted average of the prices at which the shares were traded during the one-week period up to and including the day of acquisition. This method, though, gives rise to uncertainty and inequitable taxation treatment for employees. By using the public offer price for determining market value, it is possible to overcome an artificial discount price which occurs where the weighted average price is greater than the public offer price. This measure removes uncertainty as employees and employers will be able to assess if the particular scheme falls under division 13A and is eligible for the concessions under this division and the capital gains exemption for transferring shares held by a trust to an employee. Employees will be much better able to understand the tax implications of their investment decision as a more accurate assessment if the assessable discount can be made. That is a pretty important point because under the old scheme, the one that this amendment affects, that is quite difficult for an employee to achieve. To qualify, an employee share scheme must be offered in association with a public offer of shares in a listed public company.

In providing an alternative method for determining the market value of shares acquired by employees under certain circumstances, these measures remove the unintended consequences that create uncertainty and inequitable taxation treatment for employees. There will also be greater certainty for employers, who will not have to deal with the fringe benefits tax implications. Employers are also beneficiaries of higher rates of participation by employees when there are no impediments to investing. Employee share schemes are also more attractive when those investing in them can calculate the taxation consequences more easily.

The final amendment in this bill is to closely held trusts and it goes to improve the practical application of disclosures to the Commissioner of Taxation in relation to the identity of ultimate beneficiaries within a specific period after the end of the year of income. This amendment gives the commissioner power to extend the time to lodge ultimate beneficiary statements where there are genuine reasons for an extension. Trustees will be able to make corrections, provided that the changes are made before the ultimate beneficiary non-disclosure tax becomes due and payable or within four years of the tax becoming due and payable. It is also where the trustee believed, on reasonable grounds, that the statement was a correct ultimate beneficiary statement when that statement was made and that unforeseen events led to the need to correct the original statement. There are occasions when this does occur and it is reasonable to make provision for that. In some circumstances, members of a trustee group will have the right to recover ultimate beneficiary non-disclosure tax. That the provisions operate as intended is another element of this amendment. Similarly, the trustees will have formal ability to require a notice of ultimate beneficiary non-disclosure tax liability. These are all very sensible and necessary amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 which will improve its practical application.

Finally, in the closing stages of this debate yesterday I listened to quite a bit of criticism of the government over these amendments. It is always easy to stand back and make those kinds of criticisms of new initiatives and to find fault after new legislation has been enacted. The Labor Party is pretty good at that, but when it comes to having policies the Labor Party is very short on ideas and policies of any kind of substance. I think people in the community will welcome the fact, as the government's policy on taxation is implemented, that members and ministers will be willing to be out there listening to the community and to any concerns about the implementation and that they will take action to remove any unintended consequences of that legislation, because those situations do arise from time to time and there is no shame in examining the legislation and looking at areas where perhaps unintended consequences arise. I think the folk out there must be reassured that they have a government that is thinking ahead and is prepared to take decisions and to act to implement reforms that will ensure sound long-term policies. Overall, these are very sensible amendments to taxation bills that will assist in a smooth and practical application of the laws that are made in this place.

(Quorum formed)