Page 105 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 14 December 2016
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The deterioration of the territory’s finances is primarily an expenditure problem rather than a revenue problem. Since 2007-08 the biggest source of operating revenue—commonwealth government grants—has increased by 43 per cent. The second biggest source—local tax revenue—has increased by 53 per cent. But expenditure has increased faster still at 61 per cent. Therefore, we are spending beyond our means. We are spending faster than our revenue is increasing.
In 2007-08 the territory had an interest bill of $60 million. That has nearly tripled to $172 million in 2015-16. We are paying $172 million per year in interest, Madam Speaker. While some Canberrans experience hardship, the ACT as a budget is prosperous. The territory can afford to pay a bigger interest bill each year and for years to come.
But the point remains that, even though the Labor-Greens government has been receiving more and more public money, it cannot budget within its means. If a government as favourably placed as this one cannot manage this simple task, it is likely it is going to struggle with far more difficult tasks should they arise.
Of course, the evidence is in so many capital works projects that go well over budget. Things such as the Cotter Dam are, of course, indicative of just how bad this government’s management of capital works has been. Then there are other issues such as Skywhale, the container village and numerous other things that all add up. On the one hand you have the government saying we need to be more efficient and you have the government making it ever tighter in certain agencies. Yet on the other hand you see them squandering money on so many projects that are simply not worth while.
There is also real doubt as to whether simply spending more money is actually getting better value for money and whether we are actually getting the increases in benefits as a result of this expenditure. For instance, in the past weeks we have seen three major international reports showing long-term decline or stagnation in ACT schools with regard to literacy and numeracy, especially in science and maths. Our results are different to those in states such as Victoria. Yet we spend far more. Victoria spends far less than we do, yet they get a comparable result. It does beg the question: what is the actual value for money proposition that we are getting with regard to our expenditure?
We have a government that largely is complacent when it comes to these issues. There is no sense in looking at the Education Directorate to ask why spending more and more is actually achieving less and less. It is possible that in actual fact so much of the spending is actually in effect stifling the bureaucracy, stifling teachers and stifling the progress of education. We have to make sure that any spending that does take place actually goes towards enabling teaching rather than disabling it.
The government of course claim that they are returning to a balanced budget but we never seem to get there. It seems always to be two or three years away. It has been two or three years away for about four to five years. We just never quite get there. Tomorrow never seems to come. They seem to think that the government is the only driver of this economy. They seem to think that only the government can actually
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