Page 2704 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 29 June 2010
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project, which is around codification. I look forward to having a positive result with industry on that in the next few months.
MR SMYTH: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Treasurer, why is it that the incompetent New South Wales government can deliver a budget with lower taxes and surpluses and you cannot?
Mr Hargreaves: On a point of order, Mr Speaker, this is a hypothetical and should be ruled out of order. It goes to why can the New South Wales government do anything. It is not within the minister’s portfolio responsibilities.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hargreaves! There is no point of order. Treasurer, you have the floor.
MS GALLAGHER: Far be it from me to be in a position to explain the New South Wales budget in its entirety to the opposition, but they did pick up—
Mr Smyth: No, it’s from your budget.
MS GALLAGHER: Well, they did pick up over a billion dollars in commonwealth grants redistribution under the commonwealth grants formula, whereas we lost 10 per cent of ours. In fact, the entire move to surplus for New South Wales is pretty much exactly a $1 billion turnaround, which is the Commonwealth Grants Commission change in the redistribution. So that has been a little handy. We certainly would have liked to have got the benefit that New South Wales got from the Commonwealth Grants Commission. We got the opposite.
Apart from the opposition, there has not been weeping in the streets over the budget. The budget has actually—
Mr Smyth: Just sighs of resignation.
MS GALLAGHER: No, I think people have accepted that the budget plan that we are delivering on is the result of a couple of years of very uncertain activity in international economies; it has had an impact on our budget and we are working our way through that. At the same time as we are working our way through that, we are minimising impact on the community; we are minimising impact on business; and we are delivering more for it.
MR SPEAKER: Before I come to Ms Hunter, I remind members of the chamber that we have spoken this morning about constant hectoring across the chamber and we spoke about it in question time last week. I do not expect members to shout other members down, and I will start to warn them if it continues.
Ms Gallagher: I think that’s aimed at you guys.
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