Page 1451 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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The commonwealth budget will have a significant impact on the territory’s budget, and that is likely to be more than $100 million a year off our bottom line in lost commonwealth payments, national partnership agreements ceasing, the flow-on impact of lower revenues and lower land sales from population growth decline or even stagnation. The New South Wales Treasurer, Andrew Constance, believes there is a $1.5 billion hole in the New South Wales state budget as a result of decisions announced last night. As a rule of thumb, we are between 12 and 15 times smaller than the New South Wales budget, so it is at least $100 million, likely to be $150 million, on the ACT bottom line as a result of the cost shift.
The commonwealth are making efforts to repair their bottom line by shifting the burden to the states and territories and to individuals and households. That is largely what happened last night. Someone else’s bottom line looks better by making every household’s bottom line look worse and making the states’ and territories’ bottom lines worse. You do not need to take my word for that, Mr Assistant Speaker; you can take the word of the New South Wales Liberal Treasurer, Andrew Constance. He says it represents $1.5 billion out of the New South Wales budget. It is going to be more than $100 million annually out of the territory budget and increasing, particularly with the decisions that have been announced in the health portfolio.
We will have to make some significant revisions to the ACT government budget. I note some of my other state and territory colleagues who are yet to deliver their budgets for this year are frantically having to rewrite their budgets as a result of what was announced last night. The budgets that have been delivered in other jurisdictions in advance of the federal budget are now out of date within a week of their presentation. We have delayed our budget to ensure that it occurs after the commonwealth budget, but make no mistake: this will hurt the ACT.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra) (11.54): I thank Ms Porter for bringing this motion to the Assembly today. It is disappointing to have to speak, as Mr Barr said, about last night’s federal budget and what signal it sends to all Australians. Last night the Liberal Party of Australia told the low paid, the poor, the aged and the disabled that they are on their own. The safety net has been cut. If you are sick, if you are chronically ill, if you are learning or if you are looking for a job, you are on your own.
For the first time since Federation, Australia has a federal government that is attacking the idea that by working together, by each of us contributing to the collective wealth of this nation, we can make a better life for us all. Instead, it is dog eat dog. It is access to a doctor or emergency room only if you can afford it. It is access to a university education but only if you can afford it. It is access to a blood test but only if you can afford it and it is access to a trade but only if you can afford it. As ACOSS CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie, said:
The budget divides rather than mends. It entrenches divisions between those with decent incomes, housing and health care and those without them. It undermines the fabric of our social safety net with severe cuts to health, disability support, income support, community services and housing programs.
If you are a young Canberran and you are looking for a job, the federal government has some bad news for you. The new rules for young job seekers will deny income
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