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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1401 ..

Mr Whitecross: Invented. It is a typo. It should be "invented".

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, Mr Whitecross says "invented". I think even the Labor Party federally now accept the $10 billion figure. This turnaround is important for the ACT. Clearly, the return of the Federal budget to underlying surplus in 1998-99 should remove any need for further fiscal contributions from the States and Territories to the Commonwealth's deficit reduction strategy.

There is no hiding the fact that this budget means another very tough year for the ACT. While it is impossible to tell from the budget papers just how many jobs will go from the Commonwealth Public Service in Canberra, it appears to be in line with the reductions experienced in the current year. This is also in line with ACT budget assumptions. There were certainly no new announcements of major job cuts, but reductions already in the pipeline will mean an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 jobs disappearing from the public sector in Canberra. It means a difficult year ahead for the ACT, but it simply confirms that the direction of our own ACT budget last week was the only way forward for Canberra. We need to focus even more clearly on attracting new investment and new jobs in the private sector if we are to see sustainable job growth, and that is what this Government's budget strategy is all about. We will also be maximising the opportunities for Canberra businesses presented by Federal Government outsourcing, particularly in the information technology area.

From a national perspective, the outlook is for steady economic growth. However, national employment will grow only moderately during 1997-98. Importantly, the national economic outlook is broadly in line with the expectations at the time of framing the ACT budget. If anything, the ACT's forecasts are conservative. The Commonwealth's general revenue payments to the ACT confirm the estimates included in the ACT budget. When I reported to the Assembly following the Premiers Conference, I warned of a possible further cut of up to 1.3 per cent in SPPs above and beyond the 1.4 per cent already included in the Commonwealth's forward estimates. I am relieved to see in yesterday's budget that the cuts are limited to 0.6 per cent for all States and Territories. The ACT will experience a lesser reduction of 0.04 per cent, or a little over $100,000, which can be accommodated.

On the positive side of the ledger, last night's Federal budget contained the first solid funding commitment from any Federal government to the construction of the National Museum of Australia here in Canberra. It will turn what has been a dream for many people for many years into a concrete reality. This is a project that was promised year after year. This project was promised year after year by the previous Labor Government, but it has been delivered by a coalition government. It is a project that will generate hundreds of jobs during construction and hundreds of permanent jobs when it opens. Indeed, the opening of the National Museum of Australia in 2001 will be the centrepiece of national celebrations for the Centenary of Federation, and most of the funding of the $133m project will come from the new Federation Fund.

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