Page 1938 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 May 2009
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government systems and structures without compromising services and aligned revenues and expenses. The budget included more than $100 million in efficiencies year after year, and it is wrong to suggest that these reforms have failed. These efficiencies have been found. Time has proved that we were right and, had we not undertaken these reforms—reforms which the opposition consistently opposed—we would now have much larger budget deficits, in the order of $400 million to $450 million per annum.
The structural changes that the government implemented three years ago are of lasting and continuing benefit to our community and, had we not taken them, the ACT budget would not have had the strength to withstand the shock as it has over the last seven months. We would not have had the capacity to make investments in infrastructure that have now become even more vital for our economy and that have been broadly supported overnight by commentators on the ACT budget. The view of respectable economic commentators and analysts is that now is not the time to be cutting expenditure or raising taxes. However, had the government not acted three years ago, that is precisely what we would be forced to do now—to slash expenditure or ramp up taxation. In the 2006-07 budget, we put in those structural reforms to respond to the historical imbalance in the ACT between spending and revenue, and these reforms reduced the cost of public administration overall.
We have also had in this place long debates, many debates, on the issue of the release of the functional review. We have consistently maintained our argument that releasing the functional review would undermine fundamental important principles of our system of government and compromise the capacity of this and future ACT governments to discharge their responsibilities properly. I remind the Assembly that, in response to calls from the Liberal opposition and the Greens for the release of the functional review, an independent arbiter was appointed to make an assessment. That was the Hon Sir Laurence Street, and I understand that a decision has been made on this. I think that should be the end of it, but I doubt that it will be from the opposition.
The government remains committed to ensuring that it does not waste taxpayers’ money. The government has never avoided making hard decisions, particularly about government waste and the need for efficiencies. I have already outlined to the Assembly today the savings achieved through our structural reform processes, and these reforms addressed inefficient practices. We will continue to examine our programs and services to determine if savings can be made for reinvestment in high priority areas. The government has in place long-term strategies to contain costs.
Cash management across government agencies has been reformed to strengthen transparency and accountability and ensure cash balances are used more effectively. Our record on improving the efficiency of our operations is unparalleled and the government will continue to deliver the best value for money on behalf of the ACT taxpayer. However, there is always room for improvement, and we will be working on that as we work with agency heads through the new processes implemented in this budget to continue focusing on making government spending as efficient and as targeted as possible.
In relation to Mr Smyth’s claims in his motion around diversifying the economic base of the ACT economy, no-one will argue against having a diversified economic base.
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