Page 3210 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 20 August 2019
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The government can essentially spend what they want on a project, as long as it does not go over the predictions in the forward estimates. It begs the question as to what the point of an annual appropriation is if you can then just go into next year’s appropriation as well. We think there are real governance issues with this; therefore we voted against it earlier this year when that change came about in the amendment bill.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Total appropriations
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Clauses 1 to 10, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Title
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality, Minister for Tertiary Education, Minister for Tourism and Special Events and Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment) (5.23): This represents the last opportunity to speak in this debate. I would like to put on record my thanks to all within the government who have prepared this year’s budget. It is a significant task that consumes now about 11 months of the year. We will open community engagement for next year’s budget next Monday, I believe, so it is increasingly becoming a year-round proposition: once one budget has passed, work immediately commences on the budget for the next year.
I thank my cabinet colleagues for the many hours of detailed deliberation. I particularly acknowledge the Attorney-General for his dogged pursuit of amounts as low as $80,000. I also particularly thank my office, led by Dr Jennifer Rayner, who has worked incredibly hard on this and many previous ACT budgets. I thank her for her leadership across the ACT executive staff and working so closely with ministers’ offices and with the public service to ensure that the budget is delivered on the first Tuesday in June. I note that, given the timing of public holidays, next year the budget will not be on the first Tuesday in June. I think that will give an extra couple of weeks for the process to draw to its conclusion for 2020.
I thank David Nicol, Stephen Miners and their team within ACT Treasury, who put in thousands of hours collectively to produce this document each year. It is a very significant piece of work. I thank them for their commitment to the process, and indeed all directorates, the estimates committee and all those associated with the delivery of the estimates report. I note that this year the estimates committee report provided no reasons for the Assembly to not unanimously support the budget when it comes to a final vote in a few minutes. It will be interesting to see whether a division is called this year on the territory budget. I thank everyone who has worked so hard on this budget. I wholeheartedly commend it to the Assembly.
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