Page 280 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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lowest in the nation. The 7½ thousand jobs created in the territory over the year to December 2019 were a combination of full-time employment, up by 3,300 jobs, and part-time employment, up by 4,200 jobs.
Through the year to 2019, our population grew by 6,330 people, further evidence that more and more Australians and international residents, now Canberra residents, are recognising all of the great things that our city has to offer: education, jobs and lifestyle opportunities. The government is investing for everyone that calls Canberra home, focusing on the priorities that matter most to our citizens: health, education, transport, responding to climate change, and the delivery of high-quality community services.
As I indicated when I tabled the December quarterly report, and as was evident in the commonwealth’s midyear update, like all other jurisdictions, the reduction in the national GST pool has contributed to a decline in the territory’s headline net operating balance position, as it has to every state and territory’s headline net operating balance position. Other contributors include decreases in own-source revenue—and I highlighted those in my previous speech, particularly in relation to conveyance duty and payroll tax—and lower than forecast land sales revenue in 2019-20.
As we look forward there are clearly economic risks to Australia and to the territory. We are facing a much more challenging economic environment than we were six months ago. The downside risks to the economic outlook include ongoing tensions in the international trade arena and risks associated with residential building activity. Additionally, any potential expansion of the commonwealth government decentralisation program will dampen commonwealth expenditure in the territory.
The smoke haze and associated economic disruption at the end of 2019 and continuing into 2020 has emerged as a new risk to our economic outlook. Members would be aware that the hailstorm on 20 January caused significant damage to motor vehicles and property, estimated to be close to $1 billion, and that the bushfires have burned much of the Namadgi National Park. Perhaps most concerning now is the unknown economic implications of the coronavirus outbreak in China, which is currently directly affecting our two biggest export industries, international education and tourism.
The Commonwealth Grants Commission 2020 methodology review of GST revenue-sharing relativities is expected to be released publicly on 16 March 2020. The commission’s publications to date, particularly its draft report, indicate that the ACT will likely experience a downward adjustment to its GST share in 2020-21 and future years. So there will be a smaller national GST pool as a result of prevailing economic conditions in Australia and the ACT’s share of that smaller pool is likely to be smaller.
In times of uncertainty, the government has a proven record in providing essential services and investing in the forward planning infrastructure that make our city such a great place to live. I have already touched upon our population growth and now, much like in the 2019-20 budget before it, the budget update recognises that as we grow, we
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