Katy Gallagher has announced that just two weeks after putting out her first budget she’s had to have another go after the Federales pulled the rug out from under her numbers.
- “Based on the forecasts of the national GST Pool published in the Commonwealth Budget, the ACT’s GST revenue in 2008-09, 2009-10 and across the forward years, is expected to drop further by around $200 million,” Ms Gallagher said.
The ACT’s National Special Purpose Payments (SPPs) have also been revised down by about $20 million, however, $12.5 million of that reduction is in funding to non government schools and therefore has no impact on the Territory’s Operating Balance.
The Treasurer said as a result of Commonwealth Budget variations to grant funding, including GST, SPPs and National Partnership Payments (NPPs), the Territory’s headline Operating Balance had deteriorated further to deficits of around $135 million in 2009-10, $159 million in 2010-11, $211 million in 2011-12 and $205 million in 2012-13.
“The magnitude of the fiscal shock has been quite extraordinary. The Territory had already lost $289 million over five years in GST revenue and that’s now increased by a further $200 million. That’s on top of losses of $322 million in interest income, a $247 million drop in conveyance revenue and reduced returns of $193 million on superannuation related investments.
“The revised revenue forecasts have made the challenge of returning the Budget to surplus by 2015‑16 that little bit harder, but the Government remains committed to its seven year recovery strategy,” Ms Gallagher said.
The strategy for making appropriate savings (worry about it next year and hope things have improved by then) remains unchanged.