Mr BURKE - 2003-05-28
Chief Minister, in the 2002-03 budget, you promised to set aside a provision of $10m for public servants and, from this year’s 2003-04 budget ongoing, to start meeting the unfunded superannuation liability. The $10m provision has gone from this year’s budget. Is it not true that your government has now taken the $10m your government promised public servants for their superannuation, and given it to TIO to meet its MACA shortfall?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the issue of unfunded liabilities for Territorians is one that the previous government simply ignored. The previous Chief Minister who asked the question made no effort himself to do anything about it. We moved the initial thought of having it in this year’s budget to next year’s, quite appropriately. The circumstances …
Mr Reed: Oh, right. So it is not important?
Ms MARTIN: The comments coming from a party that was in government for 27 years, which allowed not one cent for unfunded liabilities to grow …
Mr Stirling: They funded their own.
Ms MARTIN: As the Deputy Chief Minister said, they funded their own. We have moved the funding from this financial year to next. There are many issues to do with how you go about funding that, and that is being investigated now. The national circumstances of government and direct funding is being examined.
However, we have made that commitment, unlike our predecessors. We will be funding those liabilities, and that will happen in next year’s budget. To draw a comparison with that and MACA! Again, when the CLP were in government, year after year Cabinet sat there and did not put any premium increases in line with CPI - nothing in premiums for MACA, no ability, for many years, to build cash reserves. Yet we saw the ultimate cynicism in the 2001 year; they would not, on request from the TIO, for MACA, increase premiums. Why not? Because it was an election year. Why not?
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: If you are stupid enough to think that we do not know the details, then it just demonstrates the level of your stupidity. We know what you did. Every time you open your mouths, the hypocrisy gets worse - just gets worse and worse.
We are dealing appropriately through a loan to MACA, because the scheme’s solvency is in question …
Mr Reed: Oh, that is appropriate?
Ms MARTIN: Very appropriate, with a loan. We will start the funding of the unfunded liabilities in next year’s budget, which has been missing now for the best part of three decades.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the issue of unfunded liabilities for Territorians is one that the previous government simply ignored. The previous Chief Minister who asked the question made no effort himself to do anything about it. We moved the initial thought of having it in this year’s budget to next year’s, quite appropriately. The circumstances …
Mr Reed: Oh, right. So it is not important?
Ms MARTIN: The comments coming from a party that was in government for 27 years, which allowed not one cent for unfunded liabilities to grow …
Mr Stirling: They funded their own.
Ms MARTIN: As the Deputy Chief Minister said, they funded their own. We have moved the funding from this financial year to next. There are many issues to do with how you go about funding that, and that is being investigated now. The national circumstances of government and direct funding is being examined.
However, we have made that commitment, unlike our predecessors. We will be funding those liabilities, and that will happen in next year’s budget. To draw a comparison with that and MACA! Again, when the CLP were in government, year after year Cabinet sat there and did not put any premium increases in line with CPI - nothing in premiums for MACA, no ability, for many years, to build cash reserves. Yet we saw the ultimate cynicism in the 2001 year; they would not, on request from the TIO, for MACA, increase premiums. Why not? Because it was an election year. Why not?
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: If you are stupid enough to think that we do not know the details, then it just demonstrates the level of your stupidity. We know what you did. Every time you open your mouths, the hypocrisy gets worse - just gets worse and worse.
We are dealing appropriately through a loan to MACA, because the scheme’s solvency is in question …
Mr Reed: Oh, that is appropriate?
Ms MARTIN: Very appropriate, with a loan. We will start the funding of the unfunded liabilities in next year’s budget, which has been missing now for the best part of three decades.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016