Page 3606 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 26 August 2008
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Mrs Dunne: I am asking you whether the question is in order.
MR SPEAKER: It never asked for an opinion; it asked how it is going to happen.
MR STANHOPE: Of course one can understand that the Liberal Party is not interested. One is not surprised that they are not interested in how a strong economy will deliver forecast budget surpluses because, in government, they did not deliver any surpluses. $800 million of accumulated deficits is the enduring legacy and record of the Liberal Party in government. Over its two terms of government it delivered a total of $800 million in deficits and then conjured up a surplus in its last budget by not making any provision for wage rises for its public servants.
Ms Gallagher: After promising it would.
MR STANHOPE: Yes, after promising and actually negotiating pay rises. Most particularly, the nurses are the starkest example. I think they negotiated a pay rise of 14 per cent over three years, with three per cent provision over the years in the budget. How stunning, to sit here after negotiating a 14 per cent pay rise and provide in the budget one per cent a year for a 14 per cent negotiated three-year pay rise with the nurses! They did not get around to mentioning that to anybody.
Mr Gentleman: You would feel comfortable being a nurse, wouldn’t you?
MR STANHOPE: Yes, you would have been incredibly comfortable.
The importance of good fiscal management, of course, cannot be understated. Every Canberran has benefited from the policies and initiatives that this government has implemented since 2001. At the same time, we have avoided the reckless spending that the Liberals specialised in last time they were in government and would deliver again, based on their desperate promises in an effort to get elected.
The fact that this government’s excellent fiscal management has helped deliver a strong economic performance over a number of years cannot be disputed. Growth in the ACT’s economy is matched by that of the mining states, and only the mining states, in Australia—a phenomenal effort, given we do not have vast quantities of minerals which we could simply dig up. Ours is an economy built on management—good management, not luck.
The forecast surpluses published in the 2008-09 budget are achievable as high levels of economic activity continue. This government has created an environment which will ensure strong budget surpluses. At the heart of most revenue growth for governments is population and jobs growth. The ACT is no different. As long as we can assist people to move to and work in the ACT our future looks bright—not least from the budget surpluses which will arise and provide us with the capacity to continue making the territory a desirable place to live.
By delivering 3,400 blocks in 2007-08 and an additional 4,200 blocks this year the government is laying the foundation for additional workers and their families to move
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