Page 1145 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 August 1989
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Treasury to examine options for similar arrangements to apply to non-residential leaseholders as well.
Another area of concern that I am having examined is the difficulty experienced by first home buyers, particularly in the current economic climate. For those who are already purchasing a home, the Commonwealth, in its budget, has provided a very welcome $248,000 for mortgage relief in the ACT. But there are a number of people who are unable to enter the housing market at all. My Government recognises their plight and will be examining the scope for some assistance for this group within the restraints of the budget.
I would now like to turn to some financial management issues. Some members of the Assembly have said that, on coming to government, we should have established an independent audit of the ACT's financial position. Mr Speaker, this Government has always maintained that it is not only prudent but also essential to have a sound understanding of the ACT's financial position on handover from the Commonwealth.
This does not, however, require an exhaustive and expensive examination by outside organisations. As I advised in answer to a question on this issue in the Assembly on 23 May, a review of ACT finances has been commenced by this Government to ensure that a strategy is developed for the efficient management of the assets and liabilities of the ACT Government.
Mr Speaker, the process of realigning ACT finances as a consequence of self-government was not completed on 11 May 1989; rather it was just beginning. The highest priority is to establish a viable financial relationship with the Commonwealth. A range of issues could not be resolved prior to self-government, as they involved policy matters that could be resolved only at government-to-government level. These include undertakings foreshadowed by the Commonwealth to provide establishment assistance, unique national capital aspects of ACT finances, a question of funding capacity for transferred functions and liabilities, and the need to strengthen the ACT's financial position in the context of Commonwealth-State financial relations.
It is timely, having passed our first 100 days in office, to advise the Assembly of some of the major outcomes, commencing with the areas of potential liability, to show the progress the Government has made in resolving the ACT's initial financial position. Firstly, I turn to superannuation. The employer superannuation liabilities of the ACT Government, including its statutory authorities, accumulate at $60m per year. Of this large amount, some $13m is provided for by agencies which have the capacity to do so. Major examples are the ACT Electricity and Water, municipal services and, in part, the hospital system. For the rest, it is an accumulating, unfunded liability.
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