Mr STYLES - 2012-11-01
Can you outline to the House the effect on the budget of the capital works program continuing at historically high levels?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. It is really interesting to see the Commonwealth government, the federal Labor government reining in its expenditure. It recognises it needs to come into a surplus in the near future. It is implementing austerity measures and all we are hearing from the other side of the room is barking about why this government is doing the same.
It would be interesting to ask the opposition why it is okay for the federal Labor government to do it but not the government of the Northern Territory. There is a theme emerging which is that the other side of the room did not understand basic economics. That is why we are in the position we are in.
I thank the member for Sanderson. The Leader of the Opposition, the former Treasurer, will no doubt argue you need to spend your way out of recession - spend, spend, spend is the Labor motto – and the global financial crisis needed a pump priming response.
There is some argument to the fact governments need to step in and stimulate the economy. I recognise that, particularly through the global financial crisis, which is when we saw the spending of the federal government and the big spending of the former Labor government in the Northern Territory.
This happened in Australia where injections of large amounts of cash were applied to capital works for schools, roads, social housing projects, etcetera. This was the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, or the stimulus plan, which the Territory benefited considerably from through this investment from 2009 to 2011-12.
Most of that Commonwealth capital stimulus has now worked its way through our books and the capital works program remains at historically high levels. Total infrastructure payments grew under the Labor government from $357m in 2001-02, to $885m in 2008-09 - just before the global financial crisis. That averages at $544m per annum over that eight-year period.
The GFC hit and the infrastructure payments doubled to $1.5bn in 2009-10 - a record spend at the time - rising to $1.7bn the next year. The level continued in 2011-12 at $1.6bn, although much of the stimulus package had worked its way through by then, boosted by SIHIP. Big spending which continued unabated despite the end of the global financial crisis is more evidence of the mismanagement of the former government.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. It is really interesting to see the Commonwealth government, the federal Labor government reining in its expenditure. It recognises it needs to come into a surplus in the near future. It is implementing austerity measures and all we are hearing from the other side of the room is barking about why this government is doing the same.
It would be interesting to ask the opposition why it is okay for the federal Labor government to do it but not the government of the Northern Territory. There is a theme emerging which is that the other side of the room did not understand basic economics. That is why we are in the position we are in.
I thank the member for Sanderson. The Leader of the Opposition, the former Treasurer, will no doubt argue you need to spend your way out of recession - spend, spend, spend is the Labor motto – and the global financial crisis needed a pump priming response.
There is some argument to the fact governments need to step in and stimulate the economy. I recognise that, particularly through the global financial crisis, which is when we saw the spending of the federal government and the big spending of the former Labor government in the Northern Territory.
This happened in Australia where injections of large amounts of cash were applied to capital works for schools, roads, social housing projects, etcetera. This was the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, or the stimulus plan, which the Territory benefited considerably from through this investment from 2009 to 2011-12.
Most of that Commonwealth capital stimulus has now worked its way through our books and the capital works program remains at historically high levels. Total infrastructure payments grew under the Labor government from $357m in 2001-02, to $885m in 2008-09 - just before the global financial crisis. That averages at $544m per annum over that eight-year period.
The GFC hit and the infrastructure payments doubled to $1.5bn in 2009-10 - a record spend at the time - rising to $1.7bn the next year. The level continued in 2011-12 at $1.6bn, although much of the stimulus package had worked its way through by then, boosted by SIHIP. Big spending which continued unabated despite the end of the global financial crisis is more evidence of the mismanagement of the former government.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016