Page 3036 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 17 October 2007
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MR SPEAKER: Order! Come to the question, Ms MacDonald.
MS MacDONALD: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Chief minister, in light of the release of the government’s June 2007 interim result for 2006-07, can the Treasurer, advise what budget pressures the ACT is facing, and is the government considering any adjustment to taxes?
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank Ms MacDonald for the question.
Mrs Dunne: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: my recollection is that Mr Mulcahy asked at least the second part of that question in the last sitting period and, therefore, it has probably already been fully answered.
MR SPEAKER: Nice try. I don’t think you have ever accused the Chief Minister of fully answering anything before. I call the Treasurer.
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The interim result for 2006-07 reflects the government’s prudent financial management. Speaking of budget pressures, of course, Mr Speaker, members are well aware that if the population is ageing, our health care costs will continue to grow and the cost of delivering government services will also continue to grow here, as everywhere else around Australia. It is not a problem unique to the ACT, although, of course, our population is ageing faster than anywhere else in Australia, except the Northern Territory, and that has implications of its own.
We are all aware of the potential risks, or we should be—although we do not see that in the behaviour of the Liberal Party lately—of the costs associated of impending climate change and the continued drought. Once again, of course, these are not issues that are unique to the ACT. It would be an imprudent government, to say the least, that was not mindful of these emerging pressures and the potential risks to the budget of these sorts or this range of pressures—health, climate change, the drought and the continuing cost of delivering government services.
That is why the government has adopted a fiscal strategy of maintaining reasonable surpluses to guard against emerging pressures and unforeseen fiscal shocks and to provide capacity to make investment in social and physical infrastructure in our public health facilities and in our schools. The size of the current surplus is appropriate for that end. That is particularly the case given that it reflects a number of one-off factors, such as the recent, unexpected increase in activity in the housing market, which cannot be sustained forever. It also provides appropriate coverage for a number of the risks currently facing the ACT, including the possibility of stage 4 water restrictions some time in the next six months.
Mr Speaker, I have to say that some of the recent commitments—and we dwelt on this over the last week—from the Liberal Party are deeply worrying. On quick figuring, the cost of commitments in this last week from Mr Mulcahy and the Liberal Party are in the order of $90 million.
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