Page 2181 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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Party, the same story, and it has been done in every state and territory led by an incoming Liberal government, and at the commonwealth level, in modern history. There is nothing new about what you are calling for here.
What you are asking for is taxpayers to present recommendations to you on alternative fiscal strategies and ways to improve the territory’s financial position. Well, I am sorry; you are the shadow treasurer. If you are not happy with the current government policy direction then it is incumbent on you to develop a policy alternative. I want you to, because I think it is important that there is a debate on this and that when people vote in 2024 they can choose to vote for your alternative agenda, which is that you are concerned about expenditure and debt. Presumably, you will outline the series of areas of expenditure that you would cut and the ways that you would seek to reduce debt, if it is of such concern to you. That is fair enough; that is what should happen in a democracy.
I encourage you to spend the next two years as shadow treasurer developing those policies. Then put them before the people of Canberra in October 2024 and outline in detail across health, education, community services, emergency services, housing—all of the portfolio areas within the ACT budget—what you will cut in order to achieve your fetish around debt and deficit reduction, which is clearly what this is all about. It is a bizarre focus on an issue that has been canvassed extensively across the commonwealth and at a state and territory level.
The motion asks for an explanation as to why there have been deficits. I think we have had that debate every year that there has been a deficit—and why. That has been presented in budget speeches, in the annual budget papers of the territory. The reasons are very clear. Ms Lee quoted my inaugural speech that talked about shocks and unexpected outcomes that can influence budget positions. Yes, of course I stand by what I said in my inaugural speech. We have experienced those shocks. They have included the global financial crisis. They have included the 2014 federal budget, the Mr Fluffy asbestos crisis and then a global pandemic.
What you do see in the history of the headline-led operating balance of the territory is that we experienced those shocks and then we recovered our fiscal position: to balance the budget and then indeed have surpluses before the pandemic hit. The budget I released last year and the budget I will table later this afternoon demonstrate the path back to balance and a trajectory of lower debt than was forecast in last year’s budget, as a result of an improved fiscal position. One of the factors that has driven that improvement is increased revenue. That is particularly important because, in my view, the challenge at a state and territory level, and indeed at a commonwealth level, is more of a revenue challenge than an expenditure challenge.
Again, I understand that that will be contested, and it is a good thing that it will be contested. If the Leader of the Opposition and shadow treasurer believes that the answer to debt and deficit is austerity and cuts, that is fine; it is intellectually consistent with the Liberal Party’s world view. But you need to identify the areas where you want to cut, Ms Lee, and bring that forward to the election. Then we will have a contest of ideas and put before the people of the Australian Capital Territory which fiscal policy path should be pursued.
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