Page 5974 - Week 14 - Thursday, 8 December 2011
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MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (3.22): On this final sitting day of 2011, with this matter before us to debate this afternoon, I thought it appropriate to reflect on what a wonderful city and a wonderful community it is that we live in. I think that when you look around this country and around the world there is no better place than Canberra to live. I would challenge anyone to name a better city and a better place to live. I think this is important to reflect on when we are having debates in relation to government policy on taxes and charges.
This week has been a week of extraordinarily good economic news for the ACT. We have seen, amongst other things, a further cut in interest rates. We have seen Standard & Poor’s re-confirm the territory’s AAA credit rating and endorse the territory’s budget strategy. We have seen maintenance of the lowest unemployment rate in the country—in fact, a slight increase in employment in the territory. We have seen state final demands in seasonally adjusted terms increase. Certainly over the year the ACT economy has performed very strongly—I think second only to Western Australia.
In economic terms, and I think this is made clear in statements from the Reserve Bank and from Standard & Poor’s, the situation is looking quite positive for 2012 and 2013. The Reserve Bank board in its statement on monetary policy was clear that the inflation outlook for the country gave scope for the modest reduction in the cash rate. That reduction should be passed on in full by the banks. That will mean a significant reduction in monthly mortgage payments for many tens of thousands of Canberra households if that is passed on in full. With two consecutive monthly cuts to interest rates that does provide a timely boost to the disposable incomes of Canberra households.
This week also saw our AAA credit rating endorsed. Standard & Poor’s had a number of important things to state about the territory economy. I will take this opportunity to share some of those with the chamber. Standard & Poor’s observed that the prudent financial management and strong budgetary performance of the territory, as well as our very high per capita incomes and soundly performing economy, provided the basis for maintaining our AAA credit rating and providing a stable outlook longer term.
Standard & Poor’s observed that the government continues to deliver on the fiscal strategy to return its budget to surplus in the 2014 fiscal year through expenditure restraint and the implementation of efficiency measures in the delivery of government services. They consider the ACT’s economy to be strong. They have an expectation that the ACT government will remain committed to the financial strategy of maintaining a strong operating performance, including returning the operating balance to surplus in the fiscal year 2014. That I think reflects the importance of maintaining our current policy settings.
Mrs Dunne in her contribution raised a number of concerns. I will take the opportunity to respond to each of those in the order that she raised them. Firstly, in relation to taxation revenues, undoubtedly revenues have grown. This is due to the
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