Mrs AAGAARD - 2005-02-09
After three years of record capital works budgets, can you please inform the House the effect this has had on Territory small business.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker,I thank the member for her question. Over the past three years, there have been record capital works expenditure and infrastructure spends by this government, and increasing cash against it. I will demonstrate later on in this answer how that has had a very positive impact on Territory businesses - large, small and medium.
However, it is important to reflect the situation that we inherited regarding capital works. I will show this graph to the House. Down here, we have the capital works cash under the CLP years, and the revote, the money that is carried over. The pink arrow designates the last year of the CLP when the member for Brennan was Chief Minister, and it shows that the revote actually exceeds the cash. In other words, they did not even have enough money for the works that were on the list; let alone any new works.
By contrast, I hope members can see here that, under this government, there has been record expenditure over three years and cash has been increasing …
Mr Baldwin: Where are the projects?
Dr BURNS: You do not want to hear about it. Cash has been increasing by 55%. That is the bottom line. You can talk about your signature projects but, yesterday, the Chief Minister elaborated what ours are …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: the waterfront, undergrounding power and, as I am demonstrating here, a dynamo for the Territory economy.
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: They do not want to hear about it. It was my pleasure …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, before you go on, cease for a moment. We are in Question Time, and I am sure people listening to this would like to hear the answers, opposition members, so settle down.
Dr BURNS: The bulk of capital works expenditure is administered by my Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. Today, I am pleased to announce that, in this current financial year, 95% of the cash value of works has gone to Territory companies and, by company, it is 93%. That is, 93% of the companies getting work out of DIPE, this year to date, have been Territory companies.
It was my pleasure, during the luncheon adjournment, to meet representatives of one of those companies, a painting company with a job of about $110 000. Talking to the contractor, I was told things have never been better. I know, from talking to a range of businesses in the Territory, things are going very well, particularly in the construction industry.
People are not going to be fooled by the opposition’s nay-saying and negativity; they know things are going well. People know that there are jobs and a lot of economic activity going on here.
Mr Burke: Thank you, John Howard. That is why they voted for him.
Dr BURNS: Well, you do not believe it, Leader of the Opposition. Each one of those highlighted is a Territory business. You can talk down Territory business; I hold them up. They are competing against every other business in Australia for these works; they are getting the work. Hats off to Territory businesses. You talk it down, member for Brennan, but people out there in the real world know just what you did when you were Chief Minister and what this government is doing in supporting Territory business.
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask that those documents be tabled.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister?
Dr BURNS: Yes, certainly.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker,I thank the member for her question. Over the past three years, there have been record capital works expenditure and infrastructure spends by this government, and increasing cash against it. I will demonstrate later on in this answer how that has had a very positive impact on Territory businesses - large, small and medium.
However, it is important to reflect the situation that we inherited regarding capital works. I will show this graph to the House. Down here, we have the capital works cash under the CLP years, and the revote, the money that is carried over. The pink arrow designates the last year of the CLP when the member for Brennan was Chief Minister, and it shows that the revote actually exceeds the cash. In other words, they did not even have enough money for the works that were on the list; let alone any new works.
By contrast, I hope members can see here that, under this government, there has been record expenditure over three years and cash has been increasing …
Mr Baldwin: Where are the projects?
Dr BURNS: You do not want to hear about it. Cash has been increasing by 55%. That is the bottom line. You can talk about your signature projects but, yesterday, the Chief Minister elaborated what ours are …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: the waterfront, undergrounding power and, as I am demonstrating here, a dynamo for the Territory economy.
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: They do not want to hear about it. It was my pleasure …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, before you go on, cease for a moment. We are in Question Time, and I am sure people listening to this would like to hear the answers, opposition members, so settle down.
Dr BURNS: The bulk of capital works expenditure is administered by my Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. Today, I am pleased to announce that, in this current financial year, 95% of the cash value of works has gone to Territory companies and, by company, it is 93%. That is, 93% of the companies getting work out of DIPE, this year to date, have been Territory companies.
It was my pleasure, during the luncheon adjournment, to meet representatives of one of those companies, a painting company with a job of about $110 000. Talking to the contractor, I was told things have never been better. I know, from talking to a range of businesses in the Territory, things are going very well, particularly in the construction industry.
People are not going to be fooled by the opposition’s nay-saying and negativity; they know things are going well. People know that there are jobs and a lot of economic activity going on here.
Mr Burke: Thank you, John Howard. That is why they voted for him.
Dr BURNS: Well, you do not believe it, Leader of the Opposition. Each one of those highlighted is a Territory business. You can talk down Territory business; I hold them up. They are competing against every other business in Australia for these works; they are getting the work. Hats off to Territory businesses. You talk it down, member for Brennan, but people out there in the real world know just what you did when you were Chief Minister and what this government is doing in supporting Territory business.
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask that those documents be tabled.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister?
Dr BURNS: Yes, certainly.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016