Page 1937 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2011
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three years. As if that is not enough, the history of this government in terms of actual outcomes of budgets puts a lie to many of these deficits.
Indeed, in 2010-11 the ACT received $481 million more in revenue than they had initially estimated. Let me say that again. In 2010-11 the ACT received $481 million more in revenue than was initially estimated. In 2009-10 the ACT received $582 million more than was initially estimated. That is an amazing achievement and we are still in deficit at the end of that.
Over the past four years they have received $2.1 billion in additional revenue over and above initial estimates and we are still in debt. We have a Treasurer in denial, blaming the global financial crisis for her woes, despite the river of gold that has flowed in. Over the past two years—that is, during the period of the full impact of the global economic and financial crisis—this government received $1 billion more than had been estimated. Yet the Treasurer cries poor.
This is a staggering outcome and raises the very serious question as to why this government continues to budget for deficits when, as economic commentator
CommSec has reported, the ACT economy is the best performing economy in Australia, despite the ACT Labor government. Moreover, members need to remember that if you accept that judgement from CommSec that we have the best economy in the country, you have to accept their reasoning as to why. What did CommSec say? CommSec said of the ACT economy that “the ACT has been insulated from the US financial crisis”. CommSec, whom they quote to say we are the best, said the reason for that was that we were insulated from the GFC.
So despite what the Treasure says, we have a major conundrum. The Treasurer says our problems are because of the global financial crisis. CommSec says that they are not the result of the global financial crisis. All the while, the ACT government is estimating a river of gold in revenue.
Let us look at the outcome for the 2010-11 budget. When the Treasurer released the updated budget outcome in February this year, she spoke glowingly of the fact that the budget deficit had reduced from $84 million to just $6 million. Some of us will recall that the single reason for this reduction had absolutely nothing to do with any actions on behalf of this Treasurer. It was the result of the settlement of a tax dispute with News Ltd, which resulted in the territory receiving $77 million. It was not financial management. It was not the proposed cuts. It was not anything this government had done. It was simply that they got a tax settlement.
Despite the spin, the overwhelming reason for the surplus outcome in 2010-11 was because of exogenous factors and this is far removed from anything this Treasurer did. It certainly had nothing to do with this Treasurer’s proposed savings because if members go to table 1.5.1 on page 26 of budget paper 3, they will find that the Treasurer fell at the first hurdle. Indeed, the minister that assisted that fall is sitting beside her. The outcome of efficiencies in 2011-12 was a meagre $12 million—$12 million in an almost $4 billion budget. They could not find all of them.
Indeed, education and community services had their efficiency dividend reinstated. The actual savings in 2011-12 was a meagre $7 million. So we are yet to know where
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