Page 2158 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
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the measures necessary to build strong foundations for the ACT’s future finances. The accounting standards result shows a surplus last year, but it was built significantly on windfalls and asset sales, particularly land. We have already seen in recent months that the very strong investment gains recorded in the last two years cannot continue indefinitely.
It should also be stressed that the approved outcome in 2005-06 was driven by a number of one-off factors. For example, over $8 million in commonwealth government Roads to Recovery funding was received earlier than our department expected. Indeed, this funding has been factored into the territory’s budget for 2006-07. Whilst this funding was received in 2005-06, there will now be a negative impact on estimated revenue in this financial year.
More generally, it cannot be assumed that the improvement in the 2005-06 budget outcome will flow directly through into this year and future years, and, while this interim result is welcome, it should also be remembered that the GFS net operating deficit is still significant. The preliminary GFS deficit last year, measured on the same basis as that used by other Australian governments, was over $90 million, and that will require careful management across the budget forward estimates.
Looking ahead, the government’s 2006-07 budget focuses not only on getting today’s financial position right, but importantly it focuses on the financial position of the territory. The budget lays the foundation to help successive governments meet the needs of the community into the future. The budget aims to significantly improve on the existing financial position in order to provide the capacity to meet the challenges of the future. In this context the budget was framed to take into consideration longer term issues such as an ageing population, increasing health costs and an ever-decreasing proportion of revenue available from land sales. In meeting these challenges this government has made significant decisions around reducing the cost of government services to bring costs back into line with those generally realised in other jurisdictions. These changes are still essential to the longer term financial sustainability of the territory.
This report should be commended to the territory. I look forward to the shadow Treasurer acknowledging that, under the same accounting standards that his colleagues applied in seven years in government, this government in the last financial year has produced the most significant surplus that any government has ever produced in the ACT.
It is notable that Mr Mulcahy is now banging on about the fact that this is an Australian Accounting Standards budget outcome or surplus and asking why we do not actually refer to it in the context of the GFS. He ignores the fact that when he and his party were in government for seven long years it was incredibly convenient never to mention the fact that in four years they produced four deficit budgets. Their deficits were, of course, reported against the Australian Accounting Standards. I look forward to Mr Mulcahy’s eventual acknowledgement that an Australian Accounting Standards surplus of $176 million is a very significant achievement and something that should be applauded, recognising, of course, the underlying—
Mr Mulcahy: In fact there is a $123 million deficit.
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