Dr. Steve Thomas questions the Treasurer regarding the Debt Reduction Account's balance, income, expenditure, and allocation since 2017-18. The Minister's response highlights the government's debt reduction achievements compared to the previous administration, without directly answering the specific questions.

AnsweredQoN 1131Legislative Council
Asked
21 September 2023
Portfolio
minister representing the Treasurer

QuestionView source ↗

STATE FINANCES —
DEBT REDUCTION ACCOUNT
1131. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Treasurer:
Happy Thursday. I refer to the Western
Australian debt reduction account.
(1) What is the current balance of
the account?
(2) What is the total income
received from the account since its inception in 2017–18 to date?
(3) What is the total expenditure of
the account since its inception in 2017–18 to date?
(4) Of the total
expenditure in (3), how much has been used to pay down existing debt and how
much was used as expenditure to replace the need for additional debt?
(5) Into which
projects or services was the expenditure that replaced the need for additional
debt directed or channelled to?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the Leader of the Opposition
for some notice of the question. How I look forward to Thursdays.
(1)–(5) The
WA Labor government inherited a budget with net debt that was on track to reach
$43.7 billion. The WA Labor government's
efforts to get the state's finances back on track has resulted in a projected
fall in total public sector net debt
to $27.9 billion as at 30 June 2023. This is the fourth consecutive annual
decline in net debt and is almost $16 billion lower than the level of
debt projected under the previous government. In contrast, the previous Liberal–National
government did not reduce net debt at any point during its term.

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