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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 3 Hansard (25 March) . . Page.. 858 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: I will take the question on notice, Mr Speaker. That might be the best way of doing it.

MR HIRD: My question is directed to the Chief Minister, Mrs Carnell. I refer to a statement by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Stanhope, on 25 June last year, when he said:

Quite simply, the growth predictions underpinning this budget are fantasy.

Can the Chief Minister advise the parliament whether the economic growth forecasts for this year's budget are on track, or are they fantasy as claimed by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Stanhope?

MS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Hird, for the question. I am sure those opposite will listen to the answer on this one. Mr Speaker, when the Government released this year's budget, the estimates contained in it were attacked by those opposite in no uncertain terms. In fact, it was a black-and-white issue as far as the Labor Party was concerned. We were accused of fiddling the books to make our budget look better. Let me remind the Assembly of what Mr Stanhope said in his budget reply speech last year. He said - and I will quote it exactly:

... it is built on foundations of fairy floss. According to the Chief Minister, the ACT is suddenly going to start performing like an Asian tiger economy of the 1980s. Quite simply, the growth predictions underpinning this budget are fantasy. They are nothing more than a cruel hoax perpetrated on the people of the Territory to shore up the Chief Minister's credibility.

What is the reality? In this year's budget the Government forecast growth in State final demand of 2.6 per cent. That is 2.6 per cent for the whole year. What happened? According to national accounts figures released earlier this month by the Bureau of Statistics, the ACT economy has actually grown faster than any other State economy. I will say that again, because I know that Mr Stanhope will attempt to get it right next time. It has grown faster than every other State's economy.

In trend terms, in the December quarter of 1998 our State final demand increased by 2.5 per cent, more than double the national average increase of 1.1 per cent. Only the Northern Territory achieved a faster growth in this quarter. The figures also reveal that in the 12-month period prior to the December quarter the ACT's economy grew by a massive 9.6 per cent, more than double the national average of 4.5 per cent. Based on current trends, growth of up to 8 per cent could occur in the Territory's economy in 1998-99. That is more than three times the 2.6 per cent forecast by the Government in its budget papers.

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