Page 1330 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 12 May 2021
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Premier Marshall is undertaking a very significant urban renewal project, called Lot Fourteen, on the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, on the edge of their CBD. That is also home to the Australian Space Agency. I was able to meet with a team of Canberrans from Questacon who are involved in setting up the space discovery centre there. Whilst we are perhaps still a little bit sore that the decision was taken to locate the Space Agency’s headquarters in Adelaide, nevertheless we have a strong MOU with South Australia and the NT, and I had some very productive discussions with the Premier about opportunities for further collaboration. I look forward to that work being undertaken.
Last night we witnessed a federal election budget. It was certainly very big on announcements, but we are used to that from the commonwealth. What remains to be seen is whether their delivery will match their announcements. I will say from the outset that I welcome the commonwealth’s shift away from the tired, weary and intellectually bankrupt ‘debt and deficit’ rhetoric that has dominated Australian national politics for a decade or so. We are all Keynesians now, apparently! That is good to see. I again commend Treasurer Frydenberg for listening to the Reserve Bank governor and the Treasury secretary on this point.
The commonwealth is moving its focus on to jobs and full employment. I am sure that if you were looking at this from outer space, and were not particularly aware of team red or team blue, you would probably imagine that the Australian newspaper would have a headline screaming, “This is a big spending, outrageous Labor debt and deficit budget.” When Wayne Swan delivered a much more modest budget of this accord in response to the global financial crisis, that was indeed the Australian newspaper’s response, resplendent with Wayne Swan and others dressed as communists. I did not see that in today’s Australian. I did not see Treasurer Frydenberg dressed up in the Red Army outfit and all the rest. But it is the right fiscal policy approach at this time.
I can foreshadow that the ACT government will not be in a race for austerity, that we will be looking to cement our economic recovery and that there will be alignment in fiscal policy direction between us and the commonwealth, and having regard to the economic advice from the Reserve Bank, our own treasury and the Commonwealth Treasury.
In simple terms, monetary policy is targeting full employment. That is a good thing. The commonwealth government’s fiscal policy is lagging slightly, but it is pleasing to see that, at least over the next four years, jobs are being put ahead of surpluses for the sake of surpluses. I imagine there is a bit of clenching of teeth and other features from some of the fiscal conservatives around the country at the moment. The editorials in the Financial Review and the Australian and the right wing of the Liberal Party will be beside themselves at this. Lots of people will be saying, “Whatever happened to Joe Hockey, Tony Abbott and the like?” It will be an interesting period for those people. We are all Keynesians now, Madam Speaker. The Treasurer has been listening to the expert advice of the Reserve Bank governor and the commonwealth Treasury secretary.
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