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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 388 ..

MS CARNELL

(e) what assets the Territory should maintain or sell, and the reasons why they should be maintained or sold;

(f) the level of debt, and any new borrowings, which the Territory should incur;

(g) the importance of the Territory retaining its current AAA credit rating;

The Operating Loss

(h) whether current and future Governments should strive to eliminate the operating loss, and if so by what year; and

(i) the level of operating loss which the 1999-2000 budget should incur.

I placed this executive motion on the notice paper in order to throw open the floor of this Assembly to all members on a matter of the utmost importance to the future of the ACT. I hope that all members will respect the spirit in which this motion has been put forward; that is, a genuine desire for constructive, consultative debate. It has been branded in the media a "put up or shut up" debate, but my aim is to go well beyond the 10-second media grab and actually do something that is rarely done in this chamber; namely, achieve a sensible debate on a very important topic.

Mr Speaker, framing the budget is the Government's most important annual task. It is also the Government's most difficult task, particularly in a parliament where the government of the day has never held a majority of seats. Since self-government 10 years ago, this political constraint has limited the budget options available to successive governments. In one sense, this debate is an explicit recognition of that political constraint. It marks us, for better or for worse, as distinctly different from other jurisdictions where governments have far greater budget flexibility.

The other major constraint we face is, of course, the economic constraint. Wants are unlimited, Mr Speaker; resources are very limited. There is no great mystery about our underlying budget problem. It comes down to the simple fact that we are spending more than we earn. It does not take a degree in economics or an MBA to comprehend the problem or that the solution involves spending less and/or raising more revenue. But before canvassing the choices facing the Government and the Assembly, I would like to share some positive news on the budget front. It relates to the Commonwealth Grants Commission's review of methods that was brought down last week.

The Commonwealth Grants Commission is the body that recommends to the Federal Government how $23 billion of funding to the States and Territories should be divvyed up. Given that about 40 per cent of State and Territory funding comes from the Commonwealth, the work of the Grants Commission is significant for all jurisdictions.

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