Page 54 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 14 February 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Budget 2005-2006—Mid year review
Paper and statement by minister
MR QUINLAN (Molonglo—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Business, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister for Racing and Gaming): For the information of members, I present the following paper:
Budget 2005-2006—Mid year review.
I ask for leave to make a statement in relation to the paper.
Leave granted
MR QUINLAN: Mr Speaker, the review contains—how would you put it?—some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the projected deficit for the current financial year will be about $37 million, not $93 million as projected. The great bulk of that is directly related to superannuation investment returns, which have been very solid as the markets have been very solid. Members should be aware that that situation, of course, can change. We have a very considerable amount of investment out on capital markets.
As to the longer term, we have also had a superannuation actuarial review and that worsens our situation in the forward years for a year or so inasmuch as the actuary says that our superannuation liability is increasing again, mainly due in fact to a change in the way people are approaching their superannuation. People are taking pensions instead of taking lump sum payments out of the PSS system much more than was anticipated in previous reviews.
There are some telephone numbers in there and, inevitably, we will have some hysterical media reports, but I do recommend a reconciliation contained therein between GSF numbers and the current numbers taking into account superannuation treatments and land sales. Even with land sales, if you hang your hat on GSF, what the purists would say in regard to GSF is that you are not allowed to count the money you make on land sales but you do have to account for the operation of the LDA, which probably points up that the system probably does have as many flaws as any other accounting system. I commend the report to the house.
Papers
Mr Quinlan presented the following papers:
ACTEW Corporation Ltd and ACTTAB Ltd—Selective capital reduction and cancellation of non-voting shares.
ACTEW Corporation Ltd—Amendments to the Company constitution.
Financial Management Act, pursuant to section 26—Consolidated Financial Report for the financial quarter and year-to-date ending 31 December 2005.
Capital works program 2005-06—Progress report—December 2005 quarter.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .