Page 210 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 26 February 2014
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(a) the Territory’s budget deficit has blown out from $253.6 million to $360.6 million (by $107 million);
(b) the Territory will not reach its promised surplus in 2015-16, but will run deficits until 2016-17, forecasting a modest $11.2 million surplus;
(c) during the period between last June’s 2013-14 ACT Budget, and the recent Budget Review, the Government’s expenses have increased by approximately $91 million;
(d) the Government’s poor management of ACTEW has led to dividends being revised downwards by approximately $121 million over four years and income tax equivalents by $54.3 million over the same period;
(e) the Government continues to slug Canberra residents and businesses with increased taxes, anticipating a $7.3 million increase in taxation revenue from the 2013-14 ACT Budget; and
(f) the Government intends to identify $38.1 million of savings across the forward estimates period through initiatives such as staffing efficiencies, streamlining of services, and cessation of projects; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) provide a financial breakdown on the elements contributing to its:
(i) deficit blow out;
(ii) increased expenses;
(iii) increased tax revenues; and
(iv) savings initiatives; and
(b) detail the impact of the Budget Review on the community.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the territory’s budget deficit has blown out from $253.6 million to $360.6 million—that is $107 million. That is a 42 per cent blowout—almost by half. The 2012-13 budget forecast a deficit of around $130 million for 2013-14 and the 2012-13 budget review updated this to $138 million. So we go from $130 million, $138 million, $253 million to $360 million since these numbers first started to appear. The present updated deficit is almost three times that which was forecasted last financial year. As is so often the case with Labour budgets, it is probably not unexpected.
Also, the territory will not reach its promised surplus in 2015-16; it will probably run deficits until 2016-17 forecasting an $11.2 million surplus. But given Mr Barr’s track record on this, one would not be in a bad position to bet against that actually occurring.
The truth is that since July 2011 when Mr Barr took over as Treasurer he has never delivered a surplus. Call it his ideological adherence to Keynesian philosophy, or
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