Page 2069 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 4 June 2019
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Instead, we will use the Budget to get on with this important work because it needs to happen now.
Under the federal Coalition Government, we have had to do the heavy lifting of delivering infrastructure and services for Canberrans for the past six years.
Despite the ACT’s steady and ongoing growth, we have received far less than our fair share of national infrastructure investment. Public service job cuts, decentralisation and unequal funding deals in key areas like health and education have underlined the federal Government’s disregard for Canberra.
In the past, we have used the Territory Budget to offset the effects of the Mr Fluffy crisis and keep our economy growing in the face of cuts in Commonwealth spending from 2014-15 to 2016-17. We have since delivered consecutive budget surpluses.
Following the re-election of the Coalition Government federally, we have again determined to step up our investment in Canberra to ensure that services and infrastructure do not fall behind as our city continues to grow.
Our fiscal strategy remains consistent: a balanced fiscal position across the forward estimates.
Including the estimated outcome for this current fiscal year, 2018-19, over the last three years we have seen a cumulative surplus of around $100 million.
Over the coming four years from 2019-20, we are projecting a cumulative surplus of around $400 million.
We would, of course, welcome a further contribution from the Commonwealth towards the important initiatives delivered through this Territory Budget. But we simply cannot afford to wait and see if any new investment will be forthcoming.
Canberrans need their government to be delivering today and building for tomorrow, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Conclusion
This Budget takes us into a new decade. We are building today for Canberra’s future.
Canberra in the 2020s can be a place that is even more livable, sustainable and inclusive than it is today.
It can be one of the few cities in this country that gets growth right, and a community that leads the way in balancing care for our environment with caring for people’s futures.
It can be a place where our wellbeing matches our prosperity, and everyone shares in that.
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