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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2616 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, if those opposite had bothered waiting for my statement a bit later today they would realise that I will be saying in that statement that I am approaching the Federal Government directly, asking for some more detailed information about a number of the areas in the Federal budget in which it is extremely difficult at this stage to work out just how they affect the ACT. What we do know is that we have $10m plus $10.4m and, we believe, about $5m in SPPs, without any specific figures. That is about $25m there, Mr Speaker. Of course, there are the indirect costs to the ACT economy. The Federal Public Service redundancies have caused a significant drop-off in revenue for Canberra. It has meant, as those opposite would have seen, the huge drop-off in revenue that occurred in the ACT for the last five or six months of the last financial year. We do not believe that that situation will improve particularly over the next 12 months. We will be looking to a significant reduction in revenue, particularly in the areas of land sales and home sales - the sorts of areas that are very flat in the economy right now. As I said earlier, the other major pressure on the ACT economy, of course, is wage increases.

Put all those things together and you get a bleak picture for the ACT. Of course, that has to be balanced against the very exciting announcements we have made, such as the one yesterday with regard to Unisys, which means significant new jobs for Canberra. Just yesterday we turned the sod for a new building for the Royal Life Saving Society - $6m, Mr Speaker. In fact, over the last five months we have approved some $300m worth of new capital works for Canberra. All of that means real jobs, as those opposite were always very happy to talk about capital works producing real jobs. All those sorts of things are happening for Canberra, Mr Speaker; and it is really up to this place to stop being so negative about everything. Yes, we have problems; but we really do have some very real opportunities as well. But to get those opportunities you have to get out there and make them happen, Mr Speaker.

MR WOOD: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. At least the Chief Minister is finally conceding that there are problems, whereas a little while ago she would not acknowledge that.

MR SPEAKER: No preamble. Ask your supplementary question, Mr Wood.

MR WOOD: Yes, the rhetoric is beginning to move on to some criticism of the Federal Government. Chief Minister, my question today, as it was in April, related to the economic impact on the ACT and not specifically, as another question could well do, to the economic impact on the ACT budget. You responded in terms of the budget and noted, of course, that it was bleak; but you did not spell out, as I sought, the details of that bleakness.

Mr Humphries: She said she could not do that, from the information we use.

MR WOOD: The Chief Minister was saying in April - - -

MR SPEAKER: Order! Just continue with the supplementary question.

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