Page 2102 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2016
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health, education, transport and city services. In the 2016-17 budget the government supported the economy through a range of short-term stimulus measures and we continue to deliver appropriate services to the community while building a strong operating balance over the medium term.
Out fiscal strategy supports the maintenance of services to the community and investment in infrastructure to support the economy. It means strong job creation. Three thousand one hundred new jobs were created in the past year in the ACT and our unemployment rate is the lowest in Australia.
Whilst the Liberal Party has been busy cutting thousands of jobs from our city we have worked very hard to support our economy to grow and for new jobs to be created. The outcome of our work is the lowest unemployment rate in Australia. A strong economy makes a return to surplus and the maintenance of our city’s AAA credit rating more attainable and ensures our city’s economic future.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Burch.
MS BURCH: Treasurer, can you inform the Assembly what would be the impact of not honouring the light rail contract on the ACT’s credit rating and budget?
MR BARR: The first thing that we would know, if a Liberal government cancelled the light rail contract, is that we would be paying out somewhere between $220 and $280 million and the territory would receive nothing for that. The ACT government would be known for spending hundreds of millions of dollars and having nothing to show for it. We would also be known for handing back nearly $70 million in asset recycling initiative funding to the commonwealth. We would be known as the jurisdiction where government contracts might not be honoured. That would be terrible for business confidence and terrible for investment in our city.
When I spoke with Standard & Poor’s recently they indicated that they would look upon this very seriously when considering the ACT’s AAA credit rating. Let me remind members that we are one of only three jurisdictions in Australia and one of only around 20 in the world to have the highest possible credit rating. This is not something that you should treat lightly. Brendan Lyon of Infrastructure Australia has made the point, and he is correct, that the cancellation of infrastructure contracts is not a behavioural trait befitting an AAA-rated government. It would be disastrous for the territory.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Burch.
MS BURCH: Treasurer, can you inform the Assembly of the impact on the budget, the economy and the community of deviating from the return to surplus path?
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hanson! Singing Judy Garland is particularly disorderly.
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