Page 1323 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
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MR MULCAHY: As Mrs Burke points out, it is poor management which is the hallmark of this government. They have never actually come to terms with how you improve management. They just say, “Well, it costs this, so let us tax more.” They are so beholden to interest groups and unions that they are too scared to make tough decisions.
Two years ago the AHW report showed that when Mr Corbell was health minister our health system was costing, from memory, about $80 million—I do not have it with me—compared with other states because it was poorly run and poorly overseen. Unfortunately, we have not turned the corner in relation to health management yet. We have made some improvements with planning. We have had a change of minister. That is hopefully going to improve the processes for those trying to invest in our city, but we have a long way to go. There are a range of other agencies and ministries that are clearly in need of better management.
Life is not all about just slashing and burning. It is about good management, and certainly we have seen at the federal level that the Howard government has been able to deliver 10 consecutive surpluses and still deliver reductions in taxation and a high quality of services across the Australian community. As I said yesterday, I think there are lessons that can be taken from that.
I will conclude at that point, but I hope I have clarified the issue in regard to accounting systems and the statements by the Chief Minister made outside of this place incorrectly claiming that there have been no deficits under his administration. We know there have been.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for Planning) (4.19): I thank Ms Porter for raising this important issue. I would like to start by alluding to a letter to the editor that I saw in the paper the other day that I thought was very apt. It said, “Even a drover’s dog could preside over good economic management, given the state of the Australian economy at the moment.” I thought that said it all.
Ms Porter has spoken in some detail about the government’s record on delivering services, and I would just like to set the record straight on a few points that the opposition has made in this place. The shadow Treasurer has said that state and territory governments should reduce taxes. Since the introduction of GST, the fiscal imbalance between the commonwealth and the states and territories has actually increased. The commonwealth’s share of total taxation by all levels of government has increased and the share of taxation by state and local governments has actually decreased.
In 2000-01, commonwealth taxes comprised 82 per cent of the total taxation by all levels of government. In 2005-06, this share had increased to 82.3 per cent. The commonwealth’s taxes have grown at a much faster rate than the states’ and territories’ taxation. Between 2001 and 2006-07, commonwealth taxes increased at an average annual rate of 6.6 per cent. State government taxes, on the other hand, increased by an average annual rate of 5.8 per cent, or nearly a full percentage point less.
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