Page 2641 - Week 08 - Thursday, 14 August 2014
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I also draw to the shadow treasurer’s attention the success so far of our asset sales program. We look forward to the opportunity to recycle more ACT government assets. In the context of the question of funding future infrastructure needs, there is no doubt that the territory needs to dispose of some assets in order to acquire some new ones. We intend to take that opportunity, and we have done so already, very successfully, with the sale of ACTTAB. That $105 million capital boost is a significant one for the territory, together with a licence payment of more than $1 million a year over the next 50 years. That is a good result for the territory. We intend to look at other land and property holdings that we have in order to raise capital to invest in new infrastructure for the territory. That is an appropriate way for us to meet the territory’s future infrastructure needs—through a balance of asset sales and prudent borrowings in order to finance our city’s infrastructure needs. That shares the costs of the infrastructure that will be long-term infrastructure for this community over the longer term.
With this appropriation, the territory banking account will seek to ensure an appropriate rate of return on our investments. It will raise new borrowings as required. It will settle our debt and financial obligations. I am very pleased to be able to commend this appropriation to the Assembly.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Total appropriated to agencies—
Schedule 1—$102,283,397 (net cost of outputs), $34,288,573 (capital injection), $17,354,799 (payments on behalf of territory), totalling $153,926,769.
Schedule 1A—$2,650,720,603 (net cost of outputs), $1,027,799,427 (capital injection), $560,359,201 (payments on behalf of territory), totalling $4,238,879,231.
At 6 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.
Sitting suspended from 5.58 to 7.30 pm.
Total appropriated to agencies agreed to.
Treasurer’s Advance—Schedule 1A, Part 1.22—$29,500,000.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Housing and Minister for Tourism and Events) (7.31): Madam Speaker, I will go very quickly. The Treasurer’s advance for 2014-15 is $29½ million, which is an increase of $1.4 million on the 2013-14 provision. This increase is consistent with decisions that the government has made in relation to the provision representing two-thirds of one per cent of the total amount appropriated.
The advance provides flexibility for the government to address urgent, unforeseen and short-term expenditure challenges that occur during the year without the need for resource reallocation. But, of course, there are criteria that must be met by agencies to
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