Mr BAILEY - 1994-06-30
The latest, state-based accounts released by ABS on 9 June show that per capita household income in the Northern Territory has declined from the being the second highest in Australia 10 years ago to being the second lowest in the most recent year.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the statistics from ABS catalogue 5220 and a graph derived from the figures.
Leave granted.
Mr BAILEY: What is the reason for the decline in per capita household income in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if the member is talking about average weekly earnings in the Northern Territory ...
Mr Bailey: No.
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: That is for people who have jobs. We are talking about per capita household income which is the average amount of money that each household has to spend.
Mr COULTER: I can only suggest that there have been improvements in the states - that is, of course, if one believes ABS figures. I have never ...
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Mr Ede: You were quoting them the other day!
Mr COULTER: When the tourism figures suggested a 55% increase, did you see my name in the paper saying that I welcomed the figures? No, because I did not. We have spoken before in this House about the vulnerability and volatility of ABS figures.
Members opposite have made claims of this nature previously. Before the election, I mentioned that the Leader of the Opposition had said that we had the highest taxes and charges in Australia whereas the paper that I tabled showed that we had the lowest. I would like to apologise to the Leader of the Opposition because what in fact he said was that they were the second highest taxes and charges. It was the former member for Millner who said that we had the highest taxes and charges.
The figure for the March quarter does not include, for example, the 4% pay rise that the public service received and therefore the figures did not incorporate that for a start. If members opposite wait a little, as I did for the member for Nhulunbuy when he quoted ...
Mr Ede: For 10 years!
Mr COULTER: Wait for another 90 days and then see whether there is a correction in the ABS figures. It will be there, believe me.
Mr Ede: Garbage! This is a 10-year trend!
Mr COULTER: It is very evident that we will see a correction in those figures. The same occurred when the member for Nhulunbuy quoted the employment figures recently. I rammed them back down his throat when the ABS acknowledged that it had the figures wrong. When will members opposite learn not to quote ABS, but to wait for a little while?
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Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the statistics from ABS catalogue 5220 and a graph derived from the figures.
Leave granted.
Mr BAILEY: What is the reason for the decline in per capita household income in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if the member is talking about average weekly earnings in the Northern Territory ...
Mr Bailey: No.
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: That is for people who have jobs. We are talking about per capita household income which is the average amount of money that each household has to spend.
Mr COULTER: I can only suggest that there have been improvements in the states - that is, of course, if one believes ABS figures. I have never ...
Page 28
Mr Ede: You were quoting them the other day!
Mr COULTER: When the tourism figures suggested a 55% increase, did you see my name in the paper saying that I welcomed the figures? No, because I did not. We have spoken before in this House about the vulnerability and volatility of ABS figures.
Members opposite have made claims of this nature previously. Before the election, I mentioned that the Leader of the Opposition had said that we had the highest taxes and charges in Australia whereas the paper that I tabled showed that we had the lowest. I would like to apologise to the Leader of the Opposition because what in fact he said was that they were the second highest taxes and charges. It was the former member for Millner who said that we had the highest taxes and charges.
The figure for the March quarter does not include, for example, the 4% pay rise that the public service received and therefore the figures did not incorporate that for a start. If members opposite wait a little, as I did for the member for Nhulunbuy when he quoted ...
Mr Ede: For 10 years!
Mr COULTER: Wait for another 90 days and then see whether there is a correction in the ABS figures. It will be there, believe me.
Mr Ede: Garbage! This is a 10-year trend!
Mr COULTER: It is very evident that we will see a correction in those figures. The same occurred when the member for Nhulunbuy quoted the employment figures recently. I rammed them back down his throat when the ABS acknowledged that it had the figures wrong. When will members opposite learn not to quote ABS, but to wait for a little while?
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016