Page 2269 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 17 August 1993
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Let us, on the basis of what she has just said, have a look at her good management record. She says that the Consolidated Fund outcome comprised a recurrent surplus of $59m which was available to finance the major part of the $60.5m capital deficit. It is pretty much like robbing Peter to pay Paul in order to come out with what she claims is a balanced budget. But, if you read further, she said:
Final expenditures for the year were $31.1m or 2.4 per cent less than the amounts provided for in the budget ...
This Government underspent - - -
Mr Connolly: Oh, spend more, spend more.
MR KAINE: I am not saying, "Spend more", mate; I am saying, "Get your act together". This Government underspent, by their own admission, a net figure of $31.1m. We know that in the health organisation the Minister overspent by something approaching $10m. In fact that appears here and I will come to that in a minute. So there is a gross underexpenditure of at least $40m to get to a net figure of $31m. How many services budgeted for by the Government a year ago were not delivered because the Government could not spend the money? It is gross mismanagement. And the Chief Minister comes in here and says, "We managed so well that we saved $30m". That money was budgeted to provide specific services to the community. It has not been spent, by the Chief Minister's own admission, and she says that that is great. I submit that the people who did not get the services that the money was budgeted for will not agree with you.
One of the areas where the money was underspent was the law and order area. We have had complaints about overexpenditure and we have had complaints about the Government being unable to meet the demands placed on it by the community; yet, according to the Chief Minister's own figures, at the end of the year they had underspent by $2.5m. How can Mr Connolly come in here and complain about police services and not having enough money and argue with the police union about what they should be doing, when he cannot spend the money that he had budgeted? There is no explanation of why. Presumably somebody somewhere out there in the community was short-changed on law and order services, and that is just one item alone.
Mr Connolly: Frugal and effective government - something you could never cope with as Treasurer. Just spend it.
MR KAINE: Mr Connolly, the jack-in-the-box, is back. He is the one that talks about "spend more, spend more". You had money, Mr Connolly; you failed to spend it.
Mr Connolly: Put it back to the ratepayers. The ratepayers said, "Thank you very much, Mr Connolly. Don't just spend it".
MR KAINE: No, you did not give it back to any ratepayers. That money is still sitting in the Consolidated Fund and you did not spend it for the purpose for which you asked for it, Mr Connolly. A year ago you asked for it; it was appropriated; you did not spend it. That, he claims, is good management.
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