Page 1164 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 August 1989
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ACT. The writing is on the wall, and the ACT will have to come to terms with this particular matter.
Now that the Deputy Chief Minister is in the chamber I will refer to his particular reference. It applies to the budget because it refers to a press statement that he issued to the media on 9 August. The first item on his list of works programs for capital expenditure in Tuggeranong related to an archives repository for a spending of $1.263m. I looked very carefully through our own budget, and it was quite clear that that figure was not mentioned there, so I wondered how it was possible for that to be transferred from the Federal budget to the ACT budget. That is a very interesting activity that I am sure Mr Keating would like to have a look at. I am sure he would be quite happy for the ACT Government to pay for federal capital works in that particular area, but I suggest that the people of the ACT would have some problems with that.
In the first home owners scheme we saw cuts of some $30m, which will put further pressure on an already depressed local building industry, with obvious flow-ons to the ACT as a whole. We see now, with increasing interest rates and the effect that they are having on the community that is involved in the building industry in the ACT, that those sorts of cuts are not going to do those small business men and women who operate in that area any good at all.
Tax deductability increases from 1 July next year in relation to self-employed people will no doubt help some local businesses and consultants and perhaps, as the Treasurer anticipates, will help with the domestic savings, but might I suggest once again, Mr Speaker, with rising interest rates and other problems in relation to that area and concerns of the small business area, that is only of marginal assistance to them as they struggle with those particular problems.
The forecast economic growth is 2.75 from 3.3 per cent last year, with inflation of 7.5 per cent from 7.4 per cent last year - and I seem to recall, Mr Speaker, that in the statement by the Chief Minister on this particular matter the figure that she proposed for inflation was slightly below 7.4 per cent. It is interesting to note that Mr Keating must have found a major increase in inflation rates in the couple of days since the time the Chief Minister prepared her budget statement. That is a bit of a problem, it is a bit of a worry, because clearly, although they are of the same persuasion, they must not have been talking on those particularly important Treasury matters.
We notice also that unemployment of 6.25 per cent, which is a slight drop from 6.6 per cent, does not indicate much for the improvement of the ACT economy. But I will say this, Mr Speaker, in relation to this matter: It behoves this particular Government, this minority Labor Government, to ensure that the development of work and employment incentives and issues in this particular city are put
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