Page 2835 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: I do not believe there is any point of order. Mr Barr.
MR BARR: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. As Joe Hockey recently said:
If you want to start with cuts we have said we will cut 12,000 public servants out of Canberra, that is the starting point.
That is the Liberal way. That is their alternate budget strategy—to cut to the bone, to cut deep and to cut hard. We have seen exactly what they have done in other parts of this country.
The Labor way is to deliver quality services in a responsible way and to ensure our path back to surplus is responsible. The opposition are clearly embarrassed by the government’s budget and economic strategy and they have pulled this ridiculous stunt today. They are embarrassed that Canberrans are going to get a reduction in their water and sewerage bills under this government.
On the issue of the water dividend, I remind the Assembly that the budget we are scheduled to debate today and on Thursday will deliver around $4.5 billion in expenditure—$4,500 million. We have estimated that the dividend in the first year in terms of an impact from the ICRC determination will be in the order of around $20 million to $25 million. We will get final confirmation of that once the audited processes have been concluded. That will take some time, but the impact is estimated to be in the order of $20 million to $25 million. So members are aware of the estimated impact for two years. What happens in the final two years of the budget forward estimates will, of course, be contingent upon future regulatory decisions by the ICRC.
To put this in perspective, the great concern of the shadow treasurer equates to just around half of one per cent of all revenue. As such, the pricing impact is not material. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to hold up the debate of the Appropriation Bill for consideration of this matter at this time. The government has been open and transparent with this budget. In fact, there is no doubt that the ACT has the most transparent budget reporting process in Australia. The FMA requires a high standard from the executive when reporting to the Assembly. In 2012-13 there were three comprehensive budget reports because of the election year. This year there will be two—that is two opportunities for the government to present the complete set of numbers for the territory. The ACT public service spends months working on the document to table to the Assembly to ensure that the budget complies with these appropriate standards.
The budget represents expenditure and revenue as it stands at the time the budget is issued. In between the tabling of documents there are always going to be changes in some items. For example, today—this morning—the commonwealth Treasury secretary and the secretary of the department of finance released the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook. This will have an impact on our budget. Every month revenue is monitored by the ACT Revenue Office. This, too, impacts on the budget. Small changes can and do occur from time to time, and our process is open and transparent.
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