Mr KURRUPUWU - 2013-05-14
Territorians know about the $5.5bn debt Labor has left us. Can you inform the House about the extent of Labor’s unfunded commitments and the impact they have had on framing your budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. Coming into this job and looking at the debt legacy - the projected $5.5bn debt, the $1.1m we are paying in interest every day - one would expect the government of the day would have realised these things were a problem and would have stopped making commitments they could not fund. Even when the former Treasurer knew the cupboard was bare, she made more spending commitments she could not possibly fund.
The legacy items they committed to which they did not fund were: the operational funding of the Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department; various medi-hotels, some of which we, fortunately, had the ability to cancel before they were built; costs associated with police housing and overtime; and demand pressures in health, childcare and out-of-home care services. There was ongoing operational funding for the East Point Defence of Darwin Experience - $200 000 a year that was never included in any budget - funding for the Katherine Regional Cultural Precinct - $0.5m a year that was never funded; $670 000 a year for the Alice Springs Juvenile Detention Centre was never funded in a budget; and $1.2m for the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park. You would have thought the member for Karama would fund the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park, but no, that did not appear in any budget.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. I do not know the standing order for misleading parliament. All those items were funded within the appropriation budget.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, withdraw that comment!
Ms LAWRIE: I change ‘misleading’ to furphies. Is furphies okay?
Madam SPEAKER: Just withdraw.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She is using points of order to grandstand. She either has a point of order or she does not.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the former Treasurer is a little sensitive to this sort of stuff. It is a dreadful, shameful day for the former Treasurer because her mismanagement is laid bare for all Territorians to see. She is scampering as hard has she can to say, ‘Oh, I was fiscally responsible. Oh, goodness me.’ But the fact is, $5.5m was never included in a budget for the 100-bed medi-hotel at Royal Darwin Hospital, and the $5.67m was never put in the budget to fund the Alice Springs Emergency Department.
All of these compounded amount to more than $100m that was never in the budget in the forward estimates. The last Treasurer was a fraud …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Opposition Leader.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. Coming into this job and looking at the debt legacy - the projected $5.5bn debt, the $1.1m we are paying in interest every day - one would expect the government of the day would have realised these things were a problem and would have stopped making commitments they could not fund. Even when the former Treasurer knew the cupboard was bare, she made more spending commitments she could not possibly fund.
The legacy items they committed to which they did not fund were: the operational funding of the Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department; various medi-hotels, some of which we, fortunately, had the ability to cancel before they were built; costs associated with police housing and overtime; and demand pressures in health, childcare and out-of-home care services. There was ongoing operational funding for the East Point Defence of Darwin Experience - $200 000 a year that was never included in any budget - funding for the Katherine Regional Cultural Precinct - $0.5m a year that was never funded; $670 000 a year for the Alice Springs Juvenile Detention Centre was never funded in a budget; and $1.2m for the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park. You would have thought the member for Karama would fund the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park, but no, that did not appear in any budget.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. I do not know the standing order for misleading parliament. All those items were funded within the appropriation budget.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, withdraw that comment!
Ms LAWRIE: I change ‘misleading’ to furphies. Is furphies okay?
Madam SPEAKER: Just withdraw.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She is using points of order to grandstand. She either has a point of order or she does not.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the former Treasurer is a little sensitive to this sort of stuff. It is a dreadful, shameful day for the former Treasurer because her mismanagement is laid bare for all Territorians to see. She is scampering as hard has she can to say, ‘Oh, I was fiscally responsible. Oh, goodness me.’ But the fact is, $5.5m was never included in a budget for the 100-bed medi-hotel at Royal Darwin Hospital, and the $5.67m was never put in the budget to fund the Alice Springs Emergency Department.
All of these compounded amount to more than $100m that was never in the budget in the forward estimates. The last Treasurer was a fraud …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Opposition Leader.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016