Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2015-04-30
Could you please provide your assessment of the Opposition Leader’s response to your budget?
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. It was an interesting presentation by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. There were a few notable things missing, like the words ‘debt’, ‘deficit’ and ‘saving’. I think he talked about a truth deficit, but sometimes you have to wonder where the truth lies and where the truth deficit is. Those things did not reckon in his speech. He made a long comment about travel and how members of parliament should travel in the future. There was not a lot in it, apart from this mantra that they will keep spending, which is what Labor governments do best.
There was nothing to say about supporting any of the policies we have to diversify the economy, growing overseas trade, the Developing the North program or expanding mining. Most of what he said was not accurate. There was a suggestion that we are under-funding education. As I said yesterday, and I have gone to lengths to explain, we are putting more money into education than we ever have before.
After I had re-read the Opposition Leader’s speech, there was something that stuck out and caught my eye. I thought he was close to right on this one. He promised, along with all these other promises for extra money and the like, more money for health. He did not say how he would pay for this money for health, but he did say he would fund it by increasing the budget by 7% every year. His words were:
As a former Health minister I know you have this thing called growth demand. It grows at an incredible rate, so I thought I would do a bit more research. I went into the 2013 budget papers, Labor’s last budget, and looked at the health appropriation. Operational expenses for health were $822m, with $852 000 on top of that. I then did a quick calculation of 7% growth on that, multiplied out by a term of three years. The budget projection would have been a future value of around $1.008bn. Currently we are at $1.011bn. I table that.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Treasurer, your time has expired.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Mr Deputy Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper. I understand the Chief Minister, Minister for Education and the Minister for Housing have further information arising out of questions.
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. It was an interesting presentation by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. There were a few notable things missing, like the words ‘debt’, ‘deficit’ and ‘saving’. I think he talked about a truth deficit, but sometimes you have to wonder where the truth lies and where the truth deficit is. Those things did not reckon in his speech. He made a long comment about travel and how members of parliament should travel in the future. There was not a lot in it, apart from this mantra that they will keep spending, which is what Labor governments do best.
There was nothing to say about supporting any of the policies we have to diversify the economy, growing overseas trade, the Developing the North program or expanding mining. Most of what he said was not accurate. There was a suggestion that we are under-funding education. As I said yesterday, and I have gone to lengths to explain, we are putting more money into education than we ever have before.
After I had re-read the Opposition Leader’s speech, there was something that stuck out and caught my eye. I thought he was close to right on this one. He promised, along with all these other promises for extra money and the like, more money for health. He did not say how he would pay for this money for health, but he did say he would fund it by increasing the budget by 7% every year. His words were:
We know health costs rise higher than inflation. You need to put in about 7% extra every year just to keep pace.
As a former Health minister I know you have this thing called growth demand. It grows at an incredible rate, so I thought I would do a bit more research. I went into the 2013 budget papers, Labor’s last budget, and looked at the health appropriation. Operational expenses for health were $822m, with $852 000 on top of that. I then did a quick calculation of 7% growth on that, multiplied out by a term of three years. The budget projection would have been a future value of around $1.008bn. Currently we are at $1.011bn. I table that.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Treasurer, your time has expired.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Mr Deputy Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper. I understand the Chief Minister, Minister for Education and the Minister for Housing have further information arising out of questions.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016