Mrs HICKEY - 1997-05-01
Within hours of the Treasurer delivering his budget, 2 of the nation's respected financial analysists, Ed Shan of Access Economics and Mike Nehan of the Institute of Public Affairs, were severely criticising his strategies. Mike Nehan referred to the idea that he was paying off debt as `an illusion' while Ed Shan said that the failure to deal with the underlying budget deficit `defers the pain until future years'. According to Ed Shan, the 1997-98 budget `is designed to minimise the pain this year'. In other words, Territorians will be made to pay for this budget in the very near future - obviously, when it is not an election year. Is it not a fact that the Country Liberal Party has delivered an election budget for election purposes and that, if it is returned at the next election, it will repeat what it has done after every election - that is, massively jack up taxes or cut Territorians' jobs and services in order to pay for the mounting debt?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I can imagine the difficulty that the Leader of the Opposition had in trying to respond to this budget, with no increased taxes or charges imposed on Territorians, and increased expenditure of $21m for education and $17m for health services. Look at the contribution that this government has made to education and health over the past year! In fact, the health budget has increased by $34m since the last budget was brought down because we have been responsive to Territorians' needs. There was a $17m increase during the course of this financial year, and there will be a further increase of $17m in the next financial year, meeting the needs of Territorians. The same applies with education and training.
The economy is strong. More people are in employment. Young Territorians want to get out there and do the job, and all the opposition can do is whinge about the state of the economy. There will be more money for traineeships and apprenticeships, and young Territorians will be able to train here and establish themselves here as employees. Hopefully, they will be able to go on to open their own businesses in future years, as their careers progress. That is the future. That is where we are heading.
Members opposite are stuck in a pothole in the road. They cannot see the benefits, the far-reaching advantages, of this budget in providing training for Territorians, health and education services and safety. They will be safer because the police establishment will be increased by 150 officers. There will be more police on the streets. There is more activity in the area providing data for the mining industry. If we have no mining exploration, we will have no new mines. Instead of being a big whinger, the Leader of the Opposition should stand up and talk about the positive aspects of this budget, and what the private sector is doing. Mining companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on exploration and their work will be facilitated by further survey work to be undertaken by the Department of Mines and Energy to enable them better to assess those areas of higher prospectivity. Mining will be led to a higher level of activity, creating more jobs and a stronger economy in the Territory.
Members interjecting.
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The tourism industry will benefit with an additional $1.5m for further promotion. We will have a higher level of tourism activity, more people coming here and more people in jobs. One in 5 Territorians is employed in the tourism industry. Those employees are spread across the Northern Territory in the regional centres and in Darwin and Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches, much of it in monotone. In fact, there was a complaint from listeners yesterday that monotone interjections were drowning out speakers. I ask members to refrain from this continuous interjection.
Mr REED: All these budget measures will be underpinned by a wonderful range of programs to improve Territorians' lifestyle. They will be able to go fishing more frequently in Darwin Harbour and Shoal Bay, which will be dedicated to recreational fishing. A range of other recreational and environmental initiatives will be available for Territorians, not to mention our support for industry.
The deceit of the Leader of the Opposition is best demonstrated by her selective quoting of what was said on the radio yesterday. The reporter asked Mr Nehan:
Just finally, one of the things that the shadow
treasurer raised was the possibility that perhaps the
Treasurer should perhaps be thinking more about using
some cash reserves to pay off debt. Is that a good
strategy?
Mr Nehan replied:
Not really - it wouldn't advance the situation much at all.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr REED: Why don't you talk about what he said about your would-be treasurer?
Mr Bailey: What he is saying is that you are running a deficit budget.
Mr REED: Stop whingeing and see the budget for what it is - a great advance and betterment for Territorians. They will be much better off.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I can imagine the difficulty that the Leader of the Opposition had in trying to respond to this budget, with no increased taxes or charges imposed on Territorians, and increased expenditure of $21m for education and $17m for health services. Look at the contribution that this government has made to education and health over the past year! In fact, the health budget has increased by $34m since the last budget was brought down because we have been responsive to Territorians' needs. There was a $17m increase during the course of this financial year, and there will be a further increase of $17m in the next financial year, meeting the needs of Territorians. The same applies with education and training.
The economy is strong. More people are in employment. Young Territorians want to get out there and do the job, and all the opposition can do is whinge about the state of the economy. There will be more money for traineeships and apprenticeships, and young Territorians will be able to train here and establish themselves here as employees. Hopefully, they will be able to go on to open their own businesses in future years, as their careers progress. That is the future. That is where we are heading.
Members opposite are stuck in a pothole in the road. They cannot see the benefits, the far-reaching advantages, of this budget in providing training for Territorians, health and education services and safety. They will be safer because the police establishment will be increased by 150 officers. There will be more police on the streets. There is more activity in the area providing data for the mining industry. If we have no mining exploration, we will have no new mines. Instead of being a big whinger, the Leader of the Opposition should stand up and talk about the positive aspects of this budget, and what the private sector is doing. Mining companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on exploration and their work will be facilitated by further survey work to be undertaken by the Department of Mines and Energy to enable them better to assess those areas of higher prospectivity. Mining will be led to a higher level of activity, creating more jobs and a stronger economy in the Territory.
Members interjecting.
Page 2105
The tourism industry will benefit with an additional $1.5m for further promotion. We will have a higher level of tourism activity, more people coming here and more people in jobs. One in 5 Territorians is employed in the tourism industry. Those employees are spread across the Northern Territory in the regional centres and in Darwin and Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches, much of it in monotone. In fact, there was a complaint from listeners yesterday that monotone interjections were drowning out speakers. I ask members to refrain from this continuous interjection.
Mr REED: All these budget measures will be underpinned by a wonderful range of programs to improve Territorians' lifestyle. They will be able to go fishing more frequently in Darwin Harbour and Shoal Bay, which will be dedicated to recreational fishing. A range of other recreational and environmental initiatives will be available for Territorians, not to mention our support for industry.
The deceit of the Leader of the Opposition is best demonstrated by her selective quoting of what was said on the radio yesterday. The reporter asked Mr Nehan:
Just finally, one of the things that the shadow
treasurer raised was the possibility that perhaps the
Treasurer should perhaps be thinking more about using
some cash reserves to pay off debt. Is that a good
strategy?
Mr Nehan replied:
Not really - it wouldn't advance the situation much at all.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr REED: Why don't you talk about what he said about your would-be treasurer?
Mr Bailey: What he is saying is that you are running a deficit budget.
Mr REED: Stop whingeing and see the budget for what it is - a great advance and betterment for Territorians. They will be much better off.
Page 2106
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016