Page 3025 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 August 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
government services provided by departments and agencies. The review’s task was to give cabinet the very best of information on the future directions of the territory. It was also to give firsthand, frank advice on the potential risks facing the territory into the medium and longer terms. The government was not afraid to receive frank and hard advice and it did not back away from the changes needed to bring the territory structures, finances and services onto a sustainable footing.
To focus on the physical report of the functional review, as this motion does and as Dr Foskey is fixated on, is short-sighted and completely misses its point. The release of the report—the physical report—will not serve any purpose. It is no secret—we all know this, though some deny it—that there has been a serious fiscal imbalance, with the territory’s expenditure effort being 20 to 25 per cent above average and its revenue effort being at around average levels. It is no secret that since self-government we were spending too much and earning too little. It is no secret that the government could have taken the easy path, which other governments have taken, of doing nothing. That would not have been sustainable in the coming decades. While there was not a crisis, there would have been. Action had to be taken.
In the 2006-07 budget, the government informed the community of the reasons why tough decisions had to be made—many of which were not popular with certain groups in our community. We had no choice but to confront the realities. The superannuation cash payments were forecast to increase by more than 700 per cent over the next 30 years, from $60 million to almost $450 million a year in real terms. Health costs had the potential to constitute half of the budget by around 2020, from the current proportion of around a quarter of the budget—leaving absolutely no capacity to fund other services. There were 18,000 empty desks in our public schools.
The government took decisive action to address these issues, making services more efficient and reducing the cost of administration. It introduced expenditure measures which constituted around 65 per cent of structural adjustments. Revenue measures contributed around 35 per cent. The reforms delivered more than $100 million per annum in efficiency savings. Structures were streamlined and back office costs were reduced. The government has restructured the territory’s finances without compromising the services it delivers. In fact, services in all priority areas have been enhanced. Expenditure has been more tightly controlled and efficiency gains directed to front-line high-priority services. What is important is the decisions that the government has made. What is important is the outcomes for the community.
I ask members of the Assembly to note the more than $100 million per annum of efficiencies embedded in the budget. Members should note the record investments this government has made in health, education and infrastructure—investments made possible by the efficiencies implemented through the 2006-07 budget decisions. Members should note the healthy budget position and the strength of our economy as a result of the government’s prudent financial management. I ask members to note the confidence in the territory’s economy and the record levels of investment that such confidence has delivered. Members should note that we have the lowest level of unemployment—virtually full employment in the territory.
These are the outcomes that should be commended. These have been the outcomes achieved through the government’s prudent financial management through tough
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .