The Hon. R. T. M. BULL: I address my question to the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Vice-President of the Executive Council. Will the Minister provide a complete list of taxes that the Government is planning to abolish or reduce with the introduction of the GST? Will that list include bed tax, poker machine tax and land tax on private homes?

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows what taxes will be exchanged for the GST revenues.

The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: I don’t know - that’s why I asked the question.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: You should know.

The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: Hopefully, I will have it confirmed.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: It has been the subject of discussion and media comment for at least the last 12 months. It is true that bed tax and financial institutions duty will go, and debits tax will go down the track. The whole raft of taxes that were meant to be replaced by the GST, and the various stamp duties on business conveyances - for example, leasing and hiring, taxes that were intended as part of the Commonwealth Government’s first package - will be in place for the indefinite future. The honourable member knows that premium property tax will not go as part of the GST package. What was the other one he mentioned?

The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: I asked about poker machine taxes.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: Do not be so silly! The Opposition has been silly all afternoon, which goes to show that there is a leadership change in the air. I did not hear the hysterics this afternoon, but everyone has been telling me about them. And do you know why? Because it was the last opportunity for the Leader of the Opposition. When this House rises for the recess we will see another change in the Liberal Party leadership. We will see a spill of all positions. The Hon. Patricia Forsythe is looking very confident! The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti can be sure that he will not be in the running.

The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: Point of order: The Minister is not even going close to answering the question, which is a very important one for the people of New South Wales. If he is going to make a comment about leadership he should talk about the leadership challenge that he already knows about: sitting on his right.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: I am talking directly to the question. I am simply pointing out that the suggestion that poker machine taxes will be abolished is due to the silliness of members of the Opposition, and that is due to the fact that the argument they have on their minds at the moment is what jobs they will have next week.

The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: You don’t want to answer the question because you don’t know anything about it.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition wants to give up his job. He declared that he was stepping aside, but the National Party was unable to elect a new leader. The Hon. D. F. Moppett got two votes and the Hon. D. J. Gay got two votes, and for four weeks they could not
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resolve the dispute; they could not resolve the deadlock. Yet the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is sitting in a seat that he does not want to sit in, next to a leader who desperately wants to stay there. But he knows that when the spill comes it will be a contest between the Hon. Patricia Forsythe and the hapless Hon. C. J. S. Lynn.

The PRESIDENT: Order! I uphold the point of order. Although I follow the Minister’s reasoning, he has strayed from the question. He should return to it.

The Hon. M. R. EGAN: I have well and truly finished my answer.