Ms MARTIN - 2000-05-10
The Commonwealth budget contained little cheer for Territorians with only a couple of additional projects slated for the Territory. However, Budget Paper No 3 confirmed the blowout in the Territory budget for 1999-2000 with an expected public sector deficit of $91m, up from an expected $16m at budget time last year. The Treasurer hid these figures on the Internet. He wouldn’t talk about them. But his mate, the federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, does and I refer the Treasurer to Budget Paper No 3, page 42.
So will the Treasurer now take this opportunity to explain to Territorians why his 1999-2000 budget blew out by $75m?
ANSWER
Well, Mr Speaker, I am pleased to see that the honourable Leader of the Opposition and shadow Treasurer is showing a bit more interest than she did yesterday. She failed to arrive in time to take part in the debate on the important Treasury related matter and she is showing a bit more of a commitment today, and we can be thankful for that.
In relation to the matters to which she just referred, of course, she did ask this question in the former sittings, and perhaps publicly she has stated this. You have an answer, which has gone through the cavity of the cranium. That is your problem. From the point of view of some of the reasons for that, I am sure I have already explained to the good Leader of the Opposition, the vacuous cranium did not absorb anything.
One of the issues that government had to respond to, the honourable the Leader of the Opposition might recall, was the fact that government decided to buy a new generator for the Channel Island Power Station; that in itself cost $33m. It wasn’t a budgeted item and government could have made the decision to let the lights go out or to buy a new genset. We thought they would be happier with the latter.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr REED: They are the sorts of - you don’t want to know the answer, do you?
Mr Stirling: You have 42 to go.
Mr REED: You don’t want to know the answer.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, there is too much interjection.
Mr REED: Well, there are 42 to go. There may be a different figure altogether. Bear in mind we are not yet at the end of the financial year. Full reports will come to pass at the appropriate time. You might hear a little bit about it next Tuesday. That’s if the Leader of the Opposition’s shadow Treasurer isn’t having another snooze. So make sure that you have the alarm clock on next Tuesday so you can be here to hear the budget handed down. Listen carefully so the cranium might be able to absorb something and see if you can get something to fill the gaps between the ears between now and then in the form of gray matter.
The honourable the Leader of the Opposition is trying consistently to present to the people of the Northern Territory the fact that we have the highest unemployment in the country when, in fact, we have the lowest.
Ms Martin: Never.
Mr REED: She is trying to ...
A member: Yes you have.
Ms Martin: Never misrepresented.
Mr REED: ... I will just let her get those interjections because she is confirming a point in relation to her allegation that we have the highest unemployment in the country when, in fact, we have the lowest and there are the best opportunities for Territorians to get a job as compared to other Australians. It is a great shame that she always tries to put our economy down. In addition to that we have had economic growth, far and away the strongest in Australia, in advance of the national economy.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The question was specific to the extent of $91m and could he explain it. He has explained $49m of it.
Mr SPEAKER: I would be prepared to accept the point of order if there had not been so much irrelevant interjection.
Mr REED: The matters which I am alluding to have a direct relevance to the overall economic issues that the honourable the shadow Treasurer referred to and that again indicates the point of order by the member for Nhulunbuy, that they do not understand the budgetary and financial process. Those matters are fundamental. Economic growth, low unemployment and the management of our finances are fundamental to the situation that applies in the Northern Territory.
In addition to the $33m for a genset at the Channel Island power station, soon after the – in fact it was virtually the day of the Alice Springs’ flood - government made an announcement that we would be spending $5m to repair roads in the Alice Springs area after the floods. Unfortunately, the crystal ball last May did not tell us that there were going to be floods in Alice Springs this year. As a consequence we did fail by not having that road repair requirement in the budget. So what happens that the Leader of the Opposition does not understand, if it is unforeseen expenditure and a demand that arises after the budget is handed down, government has two options, you can fix the roads or you can let people fall into the hole in the road. Government did not like the latter option so we decided to fix the road. They are the kinds of emerging issues that government has to respond to. I know the shadow Treasurer is of the view that once you hand the budget down nothing happens beyond that. They wouldn’t have the ability to be flexible, to be responsive and innovative enough to meet the ongoing needs of Territorians.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The continuing babbling by the Leader of the Opposition clearly demonstrates that she isn’t after an answer to the question, she is after a bit of political nut breaking and doesn’t understand the particular issue to which she eludes.
So will the Treasurer now take this opportunity to explain to Territorians why his 1999-2000 budget blew out by $75m?
ANSWER
Well, Mr Speaker, I am pleased to see that the honourable Leader of the Opposition and shadow Treasurer is showing a bit more interest than she did yesterday. She failed to arrive in time to take part in the debate on the important Treasury related matter and she is showing a bit more of a commitment today, and we can be thankful for that.
In relation to the matters to which she just referred, of course, she did ask this question in the former sittings, and perhaps publicly she has stated this. You have an answer, which has gone through the cavity of the cranium. That is your problem. From the point of view of some of the reasons for that, I am sure I have already explained to the good Leader of the Opposition, the vacuous cranium did not absorb anything.
One of the issues that government had to respond to, the honourable the Leader of the Opposition might recall, was the fact that government decided to buy a new generator for the Channel Island Power Station; that in itself cost $33m. It wasn’t a budgeted item and government could have made the decision to let the lights go out or to buy a new genset. We thought they would be happier with the latter.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr REED: They are the sorts of - you don’t want to know the answer, do you?
Mr Stirling: You have 42 to go.
Mr REED: You don’t want to know the answer.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, there is too much interjection.
Mr REED: Well, there are 42 to go. There may be a different figure altogether. Bear in mind we are not yet at the end of the financial year. Full reports will come to pass at the appropriate time. You might hear a little bit about it next Tuesday. That’s if the Leader of the Opposition’s shadow Treasurer isn’t having another snooze. So make sure that you have the alarm clock on next Tuesday so you can be here to hear the budget handed down. Listen carefully so the cranium might be able to absorb something and see if you can get something to fill the gaps between the ears between now and then in the form of gray matter.
The honourable the Leader of the Opposition is trying consistently to present to the people of the Northern Territory the fact that we have the highest unemployment in the country when, in fact, we have the lowest.
Ms Martin: Never.
Mr REED: She is trying to ...
A member: Yes you have.
Ms Martin: Never misrepresented.
Mr REED: ... I will just let her get those interjections because she is confirming a point in relation to her allegation that we have the highest unemployment in the country when, in fact, we have the lowest and there are the best opportunities for Territorians to get a job as compared to other Australians. It is a great shame that she always tries to put our economy down. In addition to that we have had economic growth, far and away the strongest in Australia, in advance of the national economy.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The question was specific to the extent of $91m and could he explain it. He has explained $49m of it.
Mr SPEAKER: I would be prepared to accept the point of order if there had not been so much irrelevant interjection.
Mr REED: The matters which I am alluding to have a direct relevance to the overall economic issues that the honourable the shadow Treasurer referred to and that again indicates the point of order by the member for Nhulunbuy, that they do not understand the budgetary and financial process. Those matters are fundamental. Economic growth, low unemployment and the management of our finances are fundamental to the situation that applies in the Northern Territory.
In addition to the $33m for a genset at the Channel Island power station, soon after the – in fact it was virtually the day of the Alice Springs’ flood - government made an announcement that we would be spending $5m to repair roads in the Alice Springs area after the floods. Unfortunately, the crystal ball last May did not tell us that there were going to be floods in Alice Springs this year. As a consequence we did fail by not having that road repair requirement in the budget. So what happens that the Leader of the Opposition does not understand, if it is unforeseen expenditure and a demand that arises after the budget is handed down, government has two options, you can fix the roads or you can let people fall into the hole in the road. Government did not like the latter option so we decided to fix the road. They are the kinds of emerging issues that government has to respond to. I know the shadow Treasurer is of the view that once you hand the budget down nothing happens beyond that. They wouldn’t have the ability to be flexible, to be responsive and innovative enough to meet the ongoing needs of Territorians.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The continuing babbling by the Leader of the Opposition clearly demonstrates that she isn’t after an answer to the question, she is after a bit of political nut breaking and doesn’t understand the particular issue to which she eludes.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016