Mr WOOD - 2012-11-27
Do you believe the supply of water, electricity and sewerage is a fundamental human right? Is it, therefore, the government’s responsibility to ensure the provision of these services should be at a price people can afford? Do you believe the provision of power, water and sewerage should be based on the user-pays principle or full cost recovery regardless of how much that will cost the consumer?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the very interesting and philosophical question.
We have to, as a community, ensure there are adequate transactions to cover the costs of running a community in a society. There are measures in place to shield the full cost of delivering power, water and sewerage to vulnerable members of the community. There are community service obligations. These are the things a government does to ensure Territorians can be a part of this whole enterprise.
However, we are entrusted with resources - Commonwealth taxes which are paid by hard-working Territorians - and we should be able to live within a system which can support itself. This is not a profit-gaining business; this is having an efficient operation.
What happens in a world you describe is that we drift from our moorings and end up having little regard or appreciation for the true nature of debt. It comes back to us and it will not go away. When you are entrusted with the real responsibility of making decisions around how you use those resources, and if you use them in a short-term way as we have seen with the previous government, you end up with an increased debt load which will not go away. You had this fanciful notion you could artificially suppress the cost because Territorians believe it is, perhaps, a human right, but you end up hiding debt, and that debt will not go away. The former government leaves and the debt is there for someone to deal with.
In your circumstances, does debt magically go away because you do not want to respond to it? It will not. We have a responsibility to acquit ourselves in a sensible way to pass on adequate costs and ensure all Territorians can be a part of this grand enterprise.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the very interesting and philosophical question.
We have to, as a community, ensure there are adequate transactions to cover the costs of running a community in a society. There are measures in place to shield the full cost of delivering power, water and sewerage to vulnerable members of the community. There are community service obligations. These are the things a government does to ensure Territorians can be a part of this whole enterprise.
However, we are entrusted with resources - Commonwealth taxes which are paid by hard-working Territorians - and we should be able to live within a system which can support itself. This is not a profit-gaining business; this is having an efficient operation.
What happens in a world you describe is that we drift from our moorings and end up having little regard or appreciation for the true nature of debt. It comes back to us and it will not go away. When you are entrusted with the real responsibility of making decisions around how you use those resources, and if you use them in a short-term way as we have seen with the previous government, you end up with an increased debt load which will not go away. You had this fanciful notion you could artificially suppress the cost because Territorians believe it is, perhaps, a human right, but you end up hiding debt, and that debt will not go away. The former government leaves and the debt is there for someone to deal with.
In your circumstances, does debt magically go away because you do not want to respond to it? It will not. We have a responsibility to acquit ourselves in a sensible way to pass on adequate costs and ensure all Territorians can be a part of this grand enterprise.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016