Page 1094 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 6 May 2014
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more sustainable, stable, fairer and more equitable. I think the ACT government is poised very well in that regard.
We will have a look at this. There is obviously going to be a lot of commentary around it, particularly around whether or not the GST should be looked at, either by broadening the base or raising the rate. I think there would probably have to be at least some discussion in this process, but also on some of the Commission of Audit report recommendations which touched on this in respect of the different levels of government changing or looking at whether we change according to the different ability to raise revenue.
Obviously, it is related to the federation white paper, because if there are changes to the way that works, it potentially feeds into the ability of states and territories to generate revenue to deliver the services that we need to deliver, in particular in the expensive areas of health and education. So it was an important meeting. It was probably the easiest discussion on the white paper because the terms of reference are still to be agreed. I expect that there will be a lot of discussion on both of these white papers over the next COAG meetings.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Chief Minister, how will the agreement on asset recycling you signed at the COAG assist the ACT in building new infrastructure?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Ms Porter again. This was another outcome from the COAG meeting. We did sign up to the national partnership agreement on asset recycling at COAG. This had followed up from the Treasurers’ meeting where they had discussed this scheme and getting it in place. So the signing of the agreement is reaching a particular stage.
It is important to emphasise that the ACT’s participation in the asset recycling agreement does not commit the government to any course of action or any particular sale of any asset, but it does mean that we are prepared to look at asset sales and to see whether they will comply with the asset recycling agreement as signed and whether that measures up in a cost-benefit analysis way. We will be taking those decisions individually as a cabinet. But this provides the framework for us to participate in the scheme. I think it is an interesting way for the federal government to generate some investments in productive infrastructure across the country.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Dr Bourke.
DR BOURKE: Chief Minister, how will the new five-year target of closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance agreed to at the meeting operate in the ACT?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Dr Bourke for the question. This relates to an area of particular interest for the Prime Minister, who I think put it on the agenda at his first COAG meeting—the desire to raise the school attendance benchmark to 90 per cent attendance for Indigenous students within five years. The ACT actually is positioned
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