Page 2607 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 1994
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Madam Speaker, in accordance with the requirements of the Audit Act and undertakings the Government has given in response to the Public Accounts Committee, I table today the statements on the Treasurer's quarterly financial statement for the period 1 April to 30 June 1994, expenditures which were a final charge against the Treasurer's Advance in 1993-94, and a reconciliation between original budget estimates and budget outcome. Madam Speaker, these documents were also provided to you on 8 August 1994 for distribution to members as the Assembly was not sitting at the time of finalisation of the documentation.
The 1993-94 Consolidated Fund budget anticipated a cash deficit of $77m. The outcome was a cash deficit of $40m. The reduced deficit resulted from lower than anticipated expenditure, which was down by $50m, offset to a degree by lower than expected receipts, which were down by $13m. As a result of this reduced deficit, borrowings, which were projected at $34m, were constrained to $15m. The benefits of this will accrue to the ACT in future years as savings on debt servicing. As a further consequence, the Government reduced its use of provisions and reserves from an expected $43m to an actual $25m. This means that reserves available to meet future years' expenditures and contingencies are $18m greater than were estimated when constructing the 1993-94 budget.
The budget result will benefit the ACT's financial future and places us in an enviable financial position to meet the funding challenges we face. Capital expenditure was $30m, or 13 per cent, below budget. Planning delays in capital works projects such as the Magistrates Court complex and timing issues associated with capital equipment purchases had contributed to this result. Recurrent expenditure was $20m, or 1.8 per cent, below budget. Revenue was $13m, or one per cent, below budget. This was attributable almost entirely to reduced Commonwealth payments. I believe that the 1993-94 outcome is reaffirmation of this Government's commitment to responsible financial management, especially in limiting the ACT's debt burden, while still achieving social justice objectives.
I turn now to the documents I have tabled today. First, the Audit Act 1989 requires that the Treasurer publish a statement of the financial transactions of the Territory public account as soon as practicable after each quarter. The statement I have tabled is for the quarter ending 30 June 1994. Secondly, subsection 47(2) of the Audit Act 1989 also requires the Treasurer, as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year, to table in the Assembly a statement of expenditures remaining as a final charge against the Treasurer's Advance of 30 June 1994. The Treasurer's Advance was appropriated $12m in the 1993-94 budget. The final charge on the Treasurer's Advance for the year completed was only $2.4m.
Ultimately, nine programs had recourse to the advance, the two largest being Land, which required $528,000 for the negotiated settlement of a land development issue and for payment of taxation liability associated with past joint ventures, and Fire and Emergency Services, which required $457,000 for additional costs associated with the New South Wales bushfires and the above average ACT bushfire season. The saving to the budget from the original advance was $9.6m. The minimal use of the Treasurer's Advance in 1993-94 reflects not only prudent management but also our ability to reallocate funds during the year to meet changing priorities.
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