A bill to exempt general medical practices from payroll tax in the ACT has been blocked from debate in the territory's Legislative Assembly.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee introduced a bill earlier this week to exempt practices from the tax but this has been ruled out of order.
Speaker Joy Burch told the Assembly the bill would not proceed as Ms Lee was not a government minister and only ministers could bring forward bills related to government expenditure.
Ms Burch said there was precedent and pointed to a 2018 attempt from the opposition to introduce a bill to exempt landlords from land tax if they rented their properties with a 25 per cent discount through a community housing provider.
The government had anticipated Ms Lee's bill would be ruled out of order but the Opposition Leader sought to challenge the Speaker's ruling.
Ms Lee said there had previously been two other occasions when bills were brought by non-ministers related to appropriation and were not ruled out of order.
The two bills were brought forward by former Liberal and independent member Richard Mulcahy in 2007 and 2008 and related to repealing a utilities tax.
"In light of this new information, that we all have the benefit of, is different circumstances. I submit that my payroll tax amendment bill should not be ruled out of order," she said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr called Ms Lee's actions "entirely out of order". He said standing orders should be updated to ensure members who were not part of cabinet would not put forward appropriation bills.
"It is up to us in this place to put an end to it by changing our standing orders to make it absolutely clear to no longer put the Speaker in the position that you have been placed in by this political stunt," he said.
Ms Lee slammed the government for not allowing the bill to be debated.
"The fact that the Labor and Greens members won't even allow this to be debated in a public forum speaks volumes about their entire attitude to governing in the territory," she said.
Mr Barr announced last week medical practices that bulk bill 65 per cent of all patients will be exempt from payroll tax in the ACT for the next two years.
Historically, medical practices did not pay payroll tax for doctors as they were considered contractors.
But this changed after a NSW Supreme Court ruled general practitioners were subject to payroll tax.
