Page 3402 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 17 August 2010
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relating to the purchase of government’s goods and services. It reflects the outcomes associated with the ongoing management of the territory’s liability for superannuation and insurance and those associated with the transfer of assets between government agencies.
Other outcomes reflected in the 2009-10 interim result include revisions by the Land Development Agency to the financial assumptions underpinning its cost allocations and margins and higher dividends from Actew as a result of the ActewAGL joint venture settling its financial distributions for 2009-10.
As members would be aware, the government did not require the entire Treasurer’s advance during 2009-10. As a result, $13.6 million of the advance was not spent, and this directly improves the net operating balance. This reflects good management of unforseen and unanticipated cost pressures on the part of agencies, and I am very pleased about this.
I should note that it is not anticipated that some of those technical outcomes will flow through to the budget base moving forward, so the challenges remain there. But the general government sector balance sheet remains strong, as demonstrated by the strength of key financial indicators, such as net debt and net worth.
In relation to our budget plan, the government will continue to closely monitor our revenues and expenditure moving forward. The work of the expenditure review and evaluation committee continues, and the government is working towards identifying options for the unallocated savings task as part of the next budget process.
Notwithstanding the pleasing performance for 2009-10, it is important to remain vigilant, as uncertainty and the threat of external fiscal shocks remain. This has been particularly evident in recent months with the stock market falls experienced in June this year and the advice on GST revenue collections as reported by the commonwealth in its economic statement released on 14 July and the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook 2010 released on 26 July, which have revised slightly down our GST revenue. I commend the June quarter interim financial report to the Assembly.
Mr Smyth: Perhaps the Treasurer might like to move that the report be noted.
MS GALLAGHER: I move:
That the report be noted.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (3.44): The opposition is, of course, pleased to see that the territory finished the 2009-10 financial year with a surplus of around $180 million, although I note the Treasurer’s observation that this is likely to be only a temporary surplus. In the May 2010 budget, the Treasurer predicted a surplus of $54 million for the 2009-10 outcome.
Ms Gallagher: I’ve worked hard to improve it.
MR SMYTH: The simple reason for this was the territory receiving $158 million in stimulus payments from the commonwealth government. You worked hard to get the stimulus, okay.
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