Page 3586 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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So where do we go from here, Madam Speaker? Former Treasurer Wayne Swan is often fond of the saying that governments have to be Keynesians on the way down and Keynesians on the way up. That is what we are doing here in the ACT. As the city starts to fully recover from the commonwealth government’s public service cuts, Canberra is once again standing on its own two feet and the private sector is achieving lift off. The data exhibits how well our economy is doing. Recent ABS data shows that state final demand in the ACT grew by 5.1 per cent in the 2016-17 financial year, just above Treasury forecasts and the second highest outcome of any Australian jurisdiction. In addition, retail trade spending grew by 3.8 per cent through the year to July 2017 and private sector job ads were up a third over the past year.
As the ACT becomes less in need of government stimulus, we are paring back spending growth. While recent budgets have seen spending growth trend at a forecasted rate of 5.4 per cent, future spending will grow at a more modest 3.7 per cent. And we are delivering inclusive growth, not just racking up surpluses for the sake of it. We are delivering on a positive plan to renew our schools, hospitals, transport infrastructure and our neighbourhoods by making large, long-term investments in the future.
That includes light rail to Woden and the surgical procedures, interventional radiology and emergency centre at Canberra Hospital, both of which are in my own electorate, as well as upgrades to the law courts precinct and further residential expansion of Canberra into the Molonglo Valley, west Belconnen and the West Basin. As the Standard & Poor’s report states:
The ACT’s fiscal strategy is not particularly onerous and focuses on supporting the economy in the short run by creating jobs and delivering services, sustaining a strong operating balance during the medium-term, and investing in important infrastructure.
Instead of making government services smaller, we are making them smarter. As part of this effort, we have shifted multiple Access Canberra services online to free up public servants from performing face-to-face administrative duties and instead focus on policy development and implementation. An effective balanced budget and a AAA credit rating are both part of this strategy. The budgetary position will mean that less future spending will be used in paying off previously accumulated debts, while the credit rating will ensure that the paying off of these debts will be at favourable interest rates.
In conclusion, the decisions that our Labor government took in prior budgets—decisions that bucked the trend of governments throughout Australia and the world—have been vindicated. To quote Standard & Poor’s, the ACT’s financial management:
… compares favorably to domestic and international peers. It has successfully addressed a number of challenges, including the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, and Commonwealth government fiscal consolidation. It is also addressing the substantial costs involved in remediating asbestos issues in private dwellings within budget. Further, it is reforming its tax system toward a more stable income source and away from volatile conveyance duties.
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