Page 1780 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2006
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Utilities receive considerable benefit from the territory, through the occupation of government land for infrastructure such as cables and pipes. The territory incurs the cost of maintaining these land corridors and easements. To reflect that cost and to compensate the territory, a utility infrastructure charge will be introduced. Net revenue from this measure is estimated at $15 million a year.
Mr Speaker, the government has set itself the target of reducing per capita potable water use by 12 per cent by 2013 and 25 per cent by 2025. As a revenue measure and also a device for moderating demand, a water fee of 30c per kilolitre will be incorporated into the water abstraction charge.
As well as providing the government with a return on a valuable resource, this initiative will help us manage the demand for water. It will raise revenue of around $14 million a year.
As always, those eligible for rebates and concessions, such as pensioners, schools and churches, will continue to receive those rebates.
Budget reform
Mr Speaker, significant budget reform always involves implementation challenges—there will inevitably be unanticipated complications and difficulties along the way. The government recognises this, and it is committed to dealing with these challenges as they arise.
Of course, today, Labor is doing much more than simply changing the way government is structured. We are also committing ourselves to change the way the government conducts its business. We want to bring greater rigor to our processes, and greater appreciation of the full financial ramifications to all of our decision making.
The budget process to date has been effective when it comes to annual resource allocation. As members would notice from this budget, however, the horizons are being pushed out, to a point well beyond a single electoral cycle.
The budget process will become the central strategic policy-setting mechanism for the government.
Wherever practicable, funding commitments for new initiatives and programs will be for a limited time. Their continuation beyond that time will be subject to an evaluation and post-implementation review.
The government will require its agencies to identify options for efficiency or service offsets for every spending proposal, based on long-term strategies to contain costs.
Cash management across the government agencies will be reformed to strengthen transparency and accountability, and to ensure that cash balances are used more effectively.
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