Department of the Legislative Assembly, Northern Territory Government

Mrs BRAHAM (Housing) - 1999-02-25

Mrs BRAHAM (Housing): The member for Arnhem also asked: ‘Why did the Country Liberal Party force the Housing Commission to hand over $600 000 of funds it did not have?’

Firstly, the dividend of $594 000, to be precise, was paid to the Northern Territory Treasury as part of the budget efficiency measures applied across all Northern Territory government agencies. Might I add it was not paid to the Country Liberal Party as the question said.

Secondly, the dividend was paid out of the prior year’s retained profits which totalled $80.8m at the end. It is accepted accounting practice to pay a dividend out of a prior year’s retained profits.

Finally, given the cash reserves total $23.5m for the year end, the payment of the dividend had not impacted on the operations of the Housing Commission practice during the year.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016