Page 2830 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
“Oh, he is the Treasurer: it is his bill; it must be good.” Well, it is not. It is not. Last week I moved a motion where I asked for this material to be provided; the Treasurer simply said, “No; you can have it in February.” February is a long time from now, and a lot may happen in that time. Voting on an inaccurate bill at the start does not bode well for the future of the finances of this territory for the coming year.
Throughout the estimates process, we repeatedly asked the Treasurer to show us the 20-year modelling for rate increases, but Mr Barr declined. Throughout the estimates process, we repeatedly asked the Treasurer to detail the impact of the ICRC’s water pricing determination on the territory’s budget, but he was either unable to do so or not inclined to do so. And throughout the estimates process we repeatedly asked the Treasurer the actual cost of the capital metro project, but yet again Mr Barr was unable or reluctant to do so.
What we do know is that this budget is not accurate. It is not reasonable to debate a budget on hypothetical assumptions and faith. It is the crux of this no-confidence motion in the Treasurer for insisting that this budget should proceed even though Mr Barr can give no concrete assurance as to whether or not the government’s tax reform will lead to a tripling in general rates for households. The ICRC’s water and sewerage price determination would invariably lead to a multimillion dollar black hole in the territory’s budget. We know that the dividend is 100 this year, and approximately 400 over the four years are in jeopardy. And what is the true impact of the first stage of the government’s $416 million light rail project on Canberra households.
It is a sad indictment on a government, in an era when the Chief Minister promised, in her own words, “openness of the way we govern, encompassing transparency, participation, and collaboration”. We can see recommendations by the Select Committee on Estimates advising that:
… the Budget not be passed because of its lack of delivery, high levels of deficit and deceitful plan to massively increase commercial and residential rates.
And we see a recommendation that:
… the Appropriation Bill debate not be brought on until such time as the Treasurer has presented an amended bill and relevant budget documents detailing the effect of the ICRC determination on the ACTEW Water dividend and balance sheet.
We just need to look at what was asked, particularly, for instance, on tax reform. There was a question from Mr Coe:
Have you actually done the work for 20 years?
Mr Barr said:
I refer you to the Quinlan tax review.
That was in June 2012. We have got a Gallagher quote from September 2012:
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video