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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 6 Hansard (17 June) . . Page.. 1897 ..
MR SMYTH
(continuing):stated that the size of the surplus for this year could be as much as $100 million. What is the Treasury's latest estimate for the budget outcome for the year 2002-03?
MR QUINLAN
: In formal terms, we do not have an absolute estimate. We do know that some things have moved. I think it is a case of "Would you like to know what the bottom line is now or would you like to know what the bottom line is now?", because, between those two nows, if there is a stock market open somewhere, then the bottom line has probably changed.Mr Smyth
: The latest update you have will be fine.MR QUINLAN
: It is a little disturbing, actually, that the man who would be Treasurer does not understand that we have here an analogue process. There will be, let me say, considerable influences on the bottom line between now and the end of the year. They will be-Mr Smyth
: As it is now.MR QUINLAN
: I think it is generally known that there is a flurry on the stock market on 30 June as balance sheets are tidied up, as they say. Generally, there is a little upswing at 30 June. Should we take that into account?Mr Smyth
: I did say the latest estimate, Mr Treasurer.MR QUINLAN
: The only formal estimate I have is $60.6 million plus-and you will have to take a punt on it-about $16 million additional on land sales. At this point in time, you could say that the superannuation investments are looking better in recent weeks, as are everybody's. That is not a major secret.Let me assure you that there are a lot of other influences: the final wash-out on tax, the final wash-out on Commonwealth grants, some accounting debates that we are involved in right now in relation to the capitalisation of some licences-whether they are written off or whether they are written off over a period of time-the possibility of increased international student activity which flows through the education system, a bushfire contribution by the Commonwealth of $500,000, some delays in acquisitions within InTACT in computers, the investment returns for the home loan portfolio, the continuing wages negotiations-I have the figure here-and, as I say, $16.7 million additional in land.
There is the question as to whether the $10 million that is allocated to NICTA is actually expended in this financial year, because a number of legal hoops are to be gone through and we will not be committing that money until we have our legal requirements in place, and that may take time. There is the Belconnen pool, which I think may not reach all the benchmarks that were anticipated and that it was claimed would be reached for this financial year, and the list goes on.
As I said, would you like it now as well, because it will have changed again? I think it is commonsense for an Assembly like this to have a periodic-
Mr Smyth
: Point of order, Mr Speaker.
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