Page 2954 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 15 August 2018
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Let us be clear that the strengths of the territory economy are record levels of economic growth and our population increase. The fact that we are seeing a very significant period of economic growth is, of course, being reflected in the territory’s revenues. (Time expired.)
MR COE: Chief Minister, why has own-source revenue outstripped growth in wages and CPI?
MR BARR: We have seen very strong business activity. We have seen a number of revenue lines, including payroll tax and commercial conveyance, reflecting the strength of the economy, and the fact that our unemployment rate is the lowest of any Australian state or territory. We have pursued a growth model. We have wanted to ensure that Canberrans stayed in work during the very harsh cuts from your federal colleagues that damaged this economy significantly. We pursued a path of expansion, of economic activity and of job creation, and we have seen an extraordinary level of jobs growth.
We have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. That means we are seeing increased payroll tax revenues for the territory. This is a good thing. It is a sign of a strong economy that is generating good, new, long-term, sustainable jobs for Canberrans. We are seeing people coming to our city from around Australia and overseas because they are attracted to our world-class lifestyle. This is the world’s most livable city. People are moving here. Our population is growing rapidly. This is a fantastic thing for Canberra, and the evidence is that we have the lowest unemployment, the fastest growth and nearly our strongest era of population growth in the city’s history.
MR PARTON: Why is the ACT budget not in fiscal surplus, given the growth in own-source revenue?
MR BARR: Perhaps it has escaped Mr Parton that the data I tabled in this place yesterday showed that the territory has a very strong operating cash surplus. Our headline net operating balance is in surplus and we continue to see our strong economic growth contributing very good social outcomes for our city, with unemployment very low and levels of workplace participation very high, and we continue to see that private sector wage growth, in fact, has been outstripping public sector wage growth because of the policies of your federal colleagues, which are supressing public sector wages in the commonwealth public sector. If you want to look at anyone who has got something to account for in relation to slow wage growth it is your colleagues federally.
I remind you that it is your colleagues and your shadow minister who support cutting penalty rates as well. You want to take money out of people’s pockets. You want to supress their pay. That is the Liberal Party philosophy: driving down wages, insecure work, sacking people, turning this economy and this city backwards. That is your policy approach. No wonder it has been rejected so many times by the people of Canberra.
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