Page 171 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010
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MR DOSZPOT: Treasurer, why does the report from CommSec conclude that the ACT economy “may slip modestly down the leader board as the global economy recovers”?
MS GALLAGHER: The short answer is that when you are number one there is only one place to go. That would be the easy and quick answer. But there are risks to the ACT. Again, I do not think that is a secret to anybody. When the commonwealth seek to recover their budget and restrain their expenditure to two per cent, as they have outlined in their update to their budget, that potentially has serious consequences for the ACT and the ACT economy. There are big risks ahead and big challenges for us. Perhaps we could all grow up a little and maybe work as colleagues to get through this.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, a supplementary?
MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for your generosity. Minister, is the forest of cranes across the landscape a sign of economic health in this territory? Is the fact that the jobs vacant columns in the paper—
MR SPEAKER: Preamble, Mr Hargreaves.
MR HARGREAVES: This is about the economic health, thanks very much, Mr Speaker. This is not a preamble; this is a question.
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MR HARGREAVES: This is a question, even for you to understand, Colonel Klink.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, the question, thank you.
MR HARGREAVES: Okay, Mr Speaker—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR HARGREAVES: “I know nothing, Mr Speaker.” Minister, is it true that the paucity of job vacancies is a sign actually of job health? And is it true in fact that the ACT is now seen as a leading light across the country?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Mr Hargreaves for the question. Mr Smyth has been poring over the media reports to try and find some bad news in what has been really a series of good news results for the ACT and the ACT economy. I cannot for the life of me think why he would just want to promote in this place the talking down of the ACT economy.
The results that we have seen over the last three months have been tremendous news. And, yes, they have come on the back of months and months of bad news in this area—again linked to the GFC. We have seen enormous pressure placed on not only our budget but on the economy across the country, and the ACT has been no different.
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