❓ Question on the McGowan government's financial management and credit rating upgrade, with the Treasurer responding by criticising the previous government's financial performance and questioning the Opposition's claims.
AnsweredQoN 442Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE ECONOMY —
MOODY'S CREDIT RATING
442. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the responsible financial
management of the McGowan Labor government that has delivered an upgrade to the
state's credit rating and the first budget surplus in five years. Can
the Treasurer outline to the house why it is important that the government
continues to maintain strong responsible financial management and advise the
house whether he is aware of any misguided or incorrect commentary about the
state's finances?
MOODY'S CREDIT RATING
442. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the responsible financial
management of the McGowan Labor government that has delivered an upgrade to the
state's credit rating and the first budget surplus in five years. Can
the Treasurer outline to the house why it is important that the government
continues to maintain strong responsible financial management and advise the
house whether he is aware of any misguided or incorrect commentary about the
state's finances?
AnswerView source ↗
Before
I answer that question, I acknowledge on behalf of the member for Bassendean
the representatives of Eden Hill Primary School who are here today.
I also join other members in
congratulating the member for Scarborough for her rise to the role of Leader of
the Opposition. Member for Nedlands, where did you come from? In the last two
years, the only time I have heard the member for Nedlands mentioned and his
contribution to the 2020–21 election is having him replaced in the
seat. I am very impressed with where he has come from. I assume he had the time
in 2017 but it is nice to have him back in the front line!
As the Premier has already pointed
out, ultimately, the efforts that go into restoring a credit rating are vast.
The credit rating agencies have identified the strong fiscal work of this
government in getting our credit rating upgraded last week. When they described
the lack of political will of the opposition when in government, of course it
was a collective. We have seen a bit of a shuffle but I am now looking at the
former Deputy Premier of the government that oversaw record deficits and record
debt in Western Australia. Indeed, I was intrigued when the Leader of the
Opposition said in what I assume was her first press conference today —
''If we had the GST floor at
75 cents in the dollar as this government has had, we'd have delivered
surpluses every year and we'd have left the state with virtually no
debt.
The
Leader of the Opposition had better start getting her data from sources other
than the person sitting to her right.
I want to make a couple of points.
Of course, this government has not had a GST floor of 75� in the dollar. That
will not happen until 2024–25. Although I would have been delighted
with a GST floor of 75� in the dollar, the reality is that it will be some time
before we get there. The point I want to make—this may surprise members
opposite—is that even if we were to have a GST floor of 75� in the
dollar, so rapid was the former government's spend, so out of control
was its discipline and so broken was its government that the vast majority of
debt that we inherited at $40 billion would still be there. That is the tragedy
of the record of the Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Premier in the
government that drove us into cumulative $12 billion cash deficits. That is
what she managed to do. Members opposite may think they are no longer part of
the Barnett government but I look at them and I see an old reheated tribute band
of the Barnett government. Ultimately, they may think they are ABBA at Optus
Stadium, but they are really Bj�rn Again at the Charles Hotel. I think Western Australians
will see these new leaders for exactly what
they are—failed ministers from a failed government, trying to
reinvigorate themselves into a new agenda that suddenly, apparently, is
interested in things such as economic growth and finances.
I answer that question, I acknowledge on behalf of the member for Bassendean
the representatives of Eden Hill Primary School who are here today.
I also join other members in
congratulating the member for Scarborough for her rise to the role of Leader of
the Opposition. Member for Nedlands, where did you come from? In the last two
years, the only time I have heard the member for Nedlands mentioned and his
contribution to the 2020–21 election is having him replaced in the
seat. I am very impressed with where he has come from. I assume he had the time
in 2017 but it is nice to have him back in the front line!
As the Premier has already pointed
out, ultimately, the efforts that go into restoring a credit rating are vast.
The credit rating agencies have identified the strong fiscal work of this
government in getting our credit rating upgraded last week. When they described
the lack of political will of the opposition when in government, of course it
was a collective. We have seen a bit of a shuffle but I am now looking at the
former Deputy Premier of the government that oversaw record deficits and record
debt in Western Australia. Indeed, I was intrigued when the Leader of the
Opposition said in what I assume was her first press conference today —
''If we had the GST floor at
75 cents in the dollar as this government has had, we'd have delivered
surpluses every year and we'd have left the state with virtually no
debt.
The
Leader of the Opposition had better start getting her data from sources other
than the person sitting to her right.
I want to make a couple of points.
Of course, this government has not had a GST floor of 75� in the dollar. That
will not happen until 2024–25. Although I would have been delighted
with a GST floor of 75� in the dollar, the reality is that it will be some time
before we get there. The point I want to make—this may surprise members
opposite—is that even if we were to have a GST floor of 75� in the
dollar, so rapid was the former government's spend, so out of control
was its discipline and so broken was its government that the vast majority of
debt that we inherited at $40 billion would still be there. That is the tragedy
of the record of the Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Premier in the
government that drove us into cumulative $12 billion cash deficits. That is
what she managed to do. Members opposite may think they are no longer part of
the Barnett government but I look at them and I see an old reheated tribute band
of the Barnett government. Ultimately, they may think they are ABBA at Optus
Stadium, but they are really Bj�rn Again at the Charles Hotel. I think Western Australians
will see these new leaders for exactly what
they are—failed ministers from a failed government, trying to
reinvigorate themselves into a new agenda that suddenly, apparently, is
interested in things such as economic growth and finances.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.