Questions & Answers Paper No. 158 - Parliament of New South ...

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7074 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MONDAY 12 OCTOBER 2009 I am advised by the Office of Fair Trading that the former Commissioner for Fair Trading issued a Commissioner's circular to all Fair Trading staff relating to the provision of information to members of Parliament. The Commissioner's circular was consistent with a circular issued by Premier J Fahey in 1992 (M1992-32). *7422 REAL ESTATE FRAUD—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Fair Trading, Minister for Citizenship, and Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts— (1) What action is the Minister taking to ensure elderly people are not victims of real estate fraud? (2) Is the Government considering any tightening of the law to ensure real estate agents cannot commit fraud or retain defrauded funds? Answer— The Office of Fair Trading advises me that: (1) Investigations into allegations of fraud are taken seriously by Fair Trading. Where sufficient evidence exists, appropriate enforcement action is taken including prosecution or licence disqualification. Recently a real estate agent was disqualified from holding a licence as a real estate agent and from being involved in the direction, management or conduct of a business of a licensee for 10 years as a result of breaching his fiduciary duty. Compliance programs are also regularly conducted which include the inspection of real estate agents trust accounts, auction programs and substantiation of selling price, particularly where a price range is advertised. (2) Real estate agents are already tightly regulated under the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 and the Property Stock and Business Agents Regulation 2003. The Regulation contains comprehensive rules of conduct to which agents must adhere. These enforceable rules cover issues such as fiduciary obligations; agents being required to act honestly, fairly and professionally with all parties to a transaction; and dealing with conflicts of interest. The Act contains comprehensive provisions to detect and address instances of fraudulent conduct by agents. For example, agents who receive trust money are required to have their accounts audited and submit the audit to Fair Trading. The Director General can also direct spot audits of agents' accounts and freeze them if necessary. The operation of the legislation is constantly monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure it is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. In this process, provisions that regulate potential fraudulent behaviour are always under particular consideration. *7423 REVIEW OF STAYSAFE 30 REPORT—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Finance, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Ports and Waterways— (1) Has WorkCover conducted a review of the Staysafe 30 report? (2) If yes, what was the result of that review? (3) If no, does WorkCover intend to conduct the review and if so when? (4) If no review has been conducted, and it is not intended to be conducted, could the Minister please explain why? Answer— The Staysafe 30 report, released in May 1996, primarily concerns road and pedestrian safety issues. I'm advised WorkCover has considered the Staysafe 30 report and supports the initiatives taken by the City of Sydney Council as a result of the report's recommendations. *7424 MOTOR ACCIDENTS AUTHORITY—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Finance, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Ports and Waterways— (1) Is the Minister aware that recent changes to legislation affecting the Motor Accidents Authority has meant some surgeons are unable to be paid because of the classification of patients under the new system? (2) Has the Minister considered any changes to overcome this inequity? Answer— (1) I am advised the changes to the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 which commenced on 1 July 2009 have had no affect on the arrangements for surgeons to be paid. Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF
7075 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MONDAY 12 OCTOBER 2009 (2) The Motor Accidents Authority is working co-operatively with NSW Health to ensure area health services are provided with accurate information in relation to the recent changes. *7425 RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING—Mr Mike Baird asked the Deputy Premier, Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, and Minister for Commerce— (1) What was the NSW Government's total expenditure on recruitment advertising in 2008-09? (2) What plans does the NSW Government have in place to reduce expenditure on recruitment advertising? (3) Will the NSW Government make similar changes to its guidelines on recruitment advertising as implemented by the Commonwealth on 1 July 2009? Answer— I am advised: The NSW Government implemented a range of recruitment reforms during 2008-09 that resulted in significant reductions to recruitment advertising expenditure. Reform initiatives include a recruitment freeze, suspension of metropolitan newspaper advertising and the use of online advertising as the primary medium for recruitment advertising. In 2008-09, the total media spend on recruitment advertising through the centralised NSW Government media booking arrangements was $10.3 million. This represents an estimated 40 per cent reduction compared to 2007-08. The NSW Government recruitment policies have delivered significant savings in recruitment advertising. The NSW Government Advertising Guidelines are reviewed and updated on a regular basis. *7426 ELIGIBILITY FOR MATERNITY OR PARENTAL LEAVE—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Transport, and Minister for the Illawarra representing the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Health, Minister for the Central Coast, Vice President of the Executive Council— Given your advice that foster parents have "temporary status" and so are not eligible for maternity or parental leave (Question 6904), why does the Department of Community Services consider their care "long term" and "permanent" when writing to foster parents? Answer— Please refer the question to the appropriate minister. *7427 FORMER SEAFORTH TAFE SITE—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Education and Training, and Minister for Women— Will the Minister provide a copy of the advice used to support her claim that "there's no educational need in that area" (Manly Daily 15-07-09) in relation to the former Seaforth TAFE site? Answer— Seaforth TAFE was closed in 1999 due to low enrolments and the constraints of its small size and position at a major intersection. The Northern Beaches are well serviced through TAFE delivery at other colleges of the Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE including the Northern Beaches College at Brookvale and at the Freshwater Education Centre. *7428 INCREASED RATES OF LAND TAX—Mr Mike Baird asked the Minister for Finance, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Ports and Waterways representing the Treasurer— Will the Treasurer outline the basis of his claim that the increased rates of land tax affect "less than 6% of land tax payers"? Answer— I'm advised: The November 2008 mini-Budget introduced a premium land tax rate of 2 per cent, commencing from the 2009 land tax year. The premium rate only applies to land tax payers with total taxable land holdings above $2.25 million. The percentage refers to an estimation of the proportion of tax payers holding land valued in excess of the $2.25 million at the time the mini-Budget was prepared. Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF
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