Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE - 2011-05-03
In this morning’s newspaper, you said you would reveal when the budget would return to surplus. Today you have refused to make that announcement. Even the Commonwealth has put a date on when its budget will be back in surplus. Will you set a date for the next budget surplus and, if you cannot, why not?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that is simply a repeat of the question the Leader of the Opposition asked the Chief Minister as the first question. They will not really let the shadow Treasurer off the leash. We know there is a great cloud hanging over his head. The man lacks ethics and integrity. There are a whole lot of answers we are waiting to hear in that Ombudsman’s report.
I made it very clear to the media at the pre-briefing yesterday I would not state figures. I made it clear to them that the budget would show …
Mr Mills: All will be revealed tomorrow.
Ms LAWRIE: You were not in the room, Leader of the Opposition. You are showing your arrogance.
Mr Mills: I read the paper.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: Yesterday, I made it very clear to the media in the room the budget would show we would be in a deficit position across the forward years of the budget. There are significant impacts in reductions in GST occurring - a $2.1bn write down by the Commonwealth in the GST pool for 2010-11.
The opposition has its head buried in the sand regarding the effects of the global financial crisis: significant soft consumption across our nation. We have a declining revenue position with the GST.
We also have to, at the same time, increase our infrastructure spend. That is where you get the combination of the two creating the deficit. I will show the real effect of the global financial crisis. It hits there; we step up into dramatically and significantly high infrastructure spends. Why? Because credit constraint has meant private investment is absent in the marketplace. When private investment peels off, even the International Monetary Fund says to step up public sector spending significantly and stimulate your economy. That is exactly what we have been doing through the high infrastructure spends.
The opposition would rather see Territorians go onto the unemployment scrapheap. You could shave the deficit tomorrow by simply shaving the top off your infrastructure spend, but that would be irresponsible. Business needs this infrastructure spend to keep people in jobs and keep construction activity high ahead of the major projects on the horizon. Business understands the importance of this infrastructure spend underpinning …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! If the Treasurer is not prepared to answer the question, maybe she might just want to sit down, and we can get on with questions.
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, if you can come to the point?
Ms LAWRIE: That is his normal leadership challenge; it happens every Question Time. At some stage in Question Time, the loneliest backbencher in the world gets up and makes an interjection to let his team know he is still there and still after Terry Mills’ job, because this guy is a leader with the time clock ticking.
The reality is, GST revenue is down, Infrastructure spend is up. I made it clear we would be in deficit through the forward estimates …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that is simply a repeat of the question the Leader of the Opposition asked the Chief Minister as the first question. They will not really let the shadow Treasurer off the leash. We know there is a great cloud hanging over his head. The man lacks ethics and integrity. There are a whole lot of answers we are waiting to hear in that Ombudsman’s report.
I made it very clear to the media at the pre-briefing yesterday I would not state figures. I made it clear to them that the budget would show …
Mr Mills: All will be revealed tomorrow.
Ms LAWRIE: You were not in the room, Leader of the Opposition. You are showing your arrogance.
Mr Mills: I read the paper.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: Yesterday, I made it very clear to the media in the room the budget would show we would be in a deficit position across the forward years of the budget. There are significant impacts in reductions in GST occurring - a $2.1bn write down by the Commonwealth in the GST pool for 2010-11.
The opposition has its head buried in the sand regarding the effects of the global financial crisis: significant soft consumption across our nation. We have a declining revenue position with the GST.
We also have to, at the same time, increase our infrastructure spend. That is where you get the combination of the two creating the deficit. I will show the real effect of the global financial crisis. It hits there; we step up into dramatically and significantly high infrastructure spends. Why? Because credit constraint has meant private investment is absent in the marketplace. When private investment peels off, even the International Monetary Fund says to step up public sector spending significantly and stimulate your economy. That is exactly what we have been doing through the high infrastructure spends.
The opposition would rather see Territorians go onto the unemployment scrapheap. You could shave the deficit tomorrow by simply shaving the top off your infrastructure spend, but that would be irresponsible. Business needs this infrastructure spend to keep people in jobs and keep construction activity high ahead of the major projects on the horizon. Business understands the importance of this infrastructure spend underpinning …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! If the Treasurer is not prepared to answer the question, maybe she might just want to sit down, and we can get on with questions.
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, if you can come to the point?
Ms LAWRIE: That is his normal leadership challenge; it happens every Question Time. At some stage in Question Time, the loneliest backbencher in the world gets up and makes an interjection to let his team know he is still there and still after Terry Mills’ job, because this guy is a leader with the time clock ticking.
The reality is, GST revenue is down, Infrastructure spend is up. I made it clear we would be in deficit through the forward estimates …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016