Mr MILLS - 2012-05-01
In the last budget, your government said the deficit would be $387m but it has turned out to be $491m. That is a $104m increase. How could your government make such a big mistake of a $104m increase in just one year?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is obvious the Leader of the Opposition was not listening to the budget speech presented by the Treasurer at 11 am this morning. There is a very simple answer to that question. Since the budget was handed down last year, there has been a $3.1bn contraction in the GST pool. Without the hindsight of a crystal ball we could not project what was going to happen to the GST pool over the 12 months since the last budget was handed down, we took a responsible decision, as a government, to protect jobs and businesses. We did this in light of the Territory approaching the most significant growth phase in its history, maintaining the capacity of businesses, and keeping jobs for Territorians in the Territory.
We could easily have returned the budget to surplus for the sake of a cheap political headline. By slashing the capital works budget by 40% we could have had no deficit this year. We have not done that because we respect the 1000 Territorians who would have lost their jobs and the dozens of businesses across the Territory that would have gone out of business if we had taken the artificial path to a surplus.
The deficit is responsible. It is about ensuring the Territory has the capacity to capitalise on the fantastic array of projects coming to the Northern Territory. It is about ensuring our businesses have the capacity to step up to the plate, to accommodate the opportunities coming, and to ensure we keep the workforce in the Northern Territory - the tradies were not losing their jobs and going down south, which would have made it even harder to bring them back to the Northern Territory.
The real challenge for the Opposition Leader tomorrow is to explain to Territorians how he would deliver a surplus. There are only two ways to deliver a surplus, Leader of the Opposition, or a combination of two. One is to slash spending; the other is to increase taxes. There is no magic pudding to bring the budget back into surplus. The challenge for you tomorrow, Leader of the Opposition, with your credibility on the line, is to explain to Territorians how you would bring the budget back to surplus without throwing people on to dole queues or increasing taxes.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is obvious the Leader of the Opposition was not listening to the budget speech presented by the Treasurer at 11 am this morning. There is a very simple answer to that question. Since the budget was handed down last year, there has been a $3.1bn contraction in the GST pool. Without the hindsight of a crystal ball we could not project what was going to happen to the GST pool over the 12 months since the last budget was handed down, we took a responsible decision, as a government, to protect jobs and businesses. We did this in light of the Territory approaching the most significant growth phase in its history, maintaining the capacity of businesses, and keeping jobs for Territorians in the Territory.
We could easily have returned the budget to surplus for the sake of a cheap political headline. By slashing the capital works budget by 40% we could have had no deficit this year. We have not done that because we respect the 1000 Territorians who would have lost their jobs and the dozens of businesses across the Territory that would have gone out of business if we had taken the artificial path to a surplus.
The deficit is responsible. It is about ensuring the Territory has the capacity to capitalise on the fantastic array of projects coming to the Northern Territory. It is about ensuring our businesses have the capacity to step up to the plate, to accommodate the opportunities coming, and to ensure we keep the workforce in the Northern Territory - the tradies were not losing their jobs and going down south, which would have made it even harder to bring them back to the Northern Territory.
The real challenge for the Opposition Leader tomorrow is to explain to Territorians how he would deliver a surplus. There are only two ways to deliver a surplus, Leader of the Opposition, or a combination of two. One is to slash spending; the other is to increase taxes. There is no magic pudding to bring the budget back into surplus. The challenge for you tomorrow, Leader of the Opposition, with your credibility on the line, is to explain to Territorians how you would bring the budget back to surplus without throwing people on to dole queues or increasing taxes.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016