So last night the ACT Treasury announced the release of their pre-election budget update.
The Territory’s financial performance remains within the boundaries outlined in 2012-13 Budget fiscal strategy and Budget Plan. The Budget continues to forecast a return to surplus by 2015-16.
The outlook for the GGS Headline Net Operating Balance for 2012-13 has, however, declined to a deficit of $381.1 million since the publication of the Budget, largely due to the fall in the discount rate used to value superannuation liabilities at 30 June 2012.
The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth has seized on these numbers:
Today’s Pre-Election Budget Update shows ACT Labor has dragged the Territory’s Budget $381.1 million into the red, ACT Shadow Treasurer Brendan Smyth said today. Mr Smyth said this is the biggest deficit in Territory history, delivered by a government which cannot be trusted on numbers.
“Four years ago, almost to the day, Jon Stanhope promised ACT Labor would ‘not take the budget into deficit in any year,’” Mr Smyth said today.
“Today, Andrew Barr has handed down the biggest deficit in Territory history.
“This is a government which can’t be trusted to manage the ACT economy or tell the truth about numbers. They have no financial credibility left and have to go.
“A Canberra Liberals Government would manage taxpayer money wisely to give them better local services and lower rates and charges.
Team Katy has put out a statement with no speaker on it and Katy’s face on the letterhead, but the media contact is from Andrew Barr’s office. So I think this is him rolling the turd in glitter:
The 2012-13 Pre-Election Budget Update confirms that a Seselja Liberal government would have to slash jobs in order to protect the ACT’s Triple-A credit rating.
The Budget Update, issued today, shows the ACT’s economic growth was stronger than forecast in 2011-12, and that growth forecasts remain robust.
In the 2012-?13 Budget, Labor outlined its responsible and prudent plan to ensure the budget returns to surplus as planning in 2015-16. As such, the Budget update confirms that maintaining the ACT’s Triple-A credit rating – the highest available – is on track.
On the other hand, the Canberra Liberals have outlined costly policies – totalling billions of dollars – without any detail on how these policies will be funded.
The only way to add hundreds of millions of dollars of spending while protecting the ACT’s Triple-?A credit rating is to slash the ACT public service. This will be bad for the ACT economy, and bad for the provision of the important services the government provides to the community.
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