Page 3800 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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what happens when you invest and this is what happens when you actually attempt to work things in your favour—unlike many previous years, when the government simply ignored the economy.
What does the state of the states report say? Right on page 1 in the economic summary, it says:
… the ACT economy has moved from a grouping with Victoria and Queensland to the third tier of state and territory economies.
“Third tier” means South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. If there is anything holding up the economy, it is clearly housing finance. Let me quote again:
The ACT economy is supported by housing finance but rising unemployment has affected growth of consumer spending and business investment.
The minister is quick to jump when there is some good news and take the credit. For example, in August Mr Barr went on the public record saying:
The ACT economy continues to produce jobs … The trend number of ACT residents in employment increased by 200 to 215,000.
We have this perception—and you should cast your minds back through some of the votes we have had over the last years, members, particularly 12 months ago when we were on the top of the pile—that it was all because of Treasurer Barr and his economic reform. Apparently that has now run out, perhaps because the reform was not as lasting as the minister thought and perhaps because the diversification that should have occurred over the last 13 years has not. We would have been in a better position.
Someone once said to me that the eyes of the economy are retail spending. It is about confidence, and it is about how people see themselves and what they are able to do, but it also tells you how small business is going. Small business in every other jurisdiction is a huge driver. I am not convinced that it is such a driver in the ACT, simply because of the burdens that this government places on it. What is retail spending doing? Again let me go to a dot point from the report:
South Australia still has the weakest result on retail spending, up just 4.2 per cent on the decade average and below the ACT with 5.6 per cent growth and Tasmania at 6.9 per cent growth.
In retail spending, one of the most affluent jurisdictions in the country now lags behind Tasmania in terms of growth in retail spending. That is an indicator itself, because this, of course, flows into jobs. For many people who are starting out, particularly young ones, either with part-time work or just getting their first job out of school, employment is particularly important in the retail sector. We know that a lot of the owners are now doing the work themselves. We know that the impact of penalty rates on the weekends means that businesses are either choosing not to open or doing the work themselves, with family. That is leading to fewer opportunities for others. If we continue to watch those retail figures, we will see that there is a genuine lack of confidence out there.
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