Page 1880 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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decry its defects. We are here to hold this government and this coalition—yes, I said coalition—to account for the budget they have presented to the people of the ACT, a budget founded not on misfortune or misadventure, but foundering from a lack of invention or intervention, of wasted time and lost opportunity.
Last year, we warned that the debts, deficits and lack of basic services in this budget would be unavoidable because the steps that needed to be taken in the last budget and the one before that and the one before that were steps left untaken. We have heard the Treasurer claim her budgets as responsible, as modest, as fair, and that this budget is one for growth. And it is: growth in debts and growth in deficits, and a growth in the poor discipline, lack of direction and determination that have typified the ACT Labor government since their re-election.
The Canberra Liberals have engaged with experts and have analysed the ACT economy with care. The ACT economy is inextricably linked to the Australian economy. It has similar growth rates, similar employment trends, similar inflationary pressures. It relies on growth in the national economy and particularly commonwealth spending for its growth. At a national level, it is fair to say that the outlook for the economy is positive, and so it is for the ACT. The world’s demand for resources is driving the mining sector, driving jobs growth, and it is driving economic growth from which the ACT will benefit.
So what we have is actually a strong local economy amidst a national economy that has weathered the international crisis well. With this growth come challenges. Already this week we have seen the RBA lift the official cash rate 25 points to 4.5 per cent. CPI is pushing towards 2.9 per cent, just inside the RBA’s target range. And workforce participation, especially in the ACT, is rising.
But this economic growth should also provide an opportunity for the ACT to bring its budget back into the black quicker than was originally anticipated. Our analysis shows that revenue has grown faster than predicted during last year’s budget when the GFC was upon us. It has, in fact, grown higher, far higher, than the predictions of the budgets before the GFC had even earned its acronym. The bottom line in this budget is that this government has received more money than any other in the territory’s history. It is the highest taxing budget in our history.
Mr Speaker, I am about to go through some figures, and I am pleased that the Treasurer, with her opportunity today in question time, was not able to debunk one of these numbers that we have put forward—not one. In the 2008-09 budget, when things were booming and the GFC had not yet occurred, the ACT government forecast that, in 2010-11, revenue would be $3.591 billion. In the 2009-10 budget, after the potential impact of the GFC had become clear, the ACT government forecast that, in 2010-11, revenue would be $3.518 billion. The government in this budget has said that revenue in 2010-11 will be $3.668 billion. So we are already back above where we expected to be, even in the best of times.
Some people are doing it tough out there, but it certainly is not this government. In fact, revenue is forecast to grow to $4.234 billion in 2013-14. How much stimulus money is there in 2013-14, Katy?
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