❓ Ms. Sanderson questions the Treasurer on the importance of Treasury in responsible financial management and whether the government's plan includes social media polls. The Treasurer responds by criticising the opposition's financial management and use of social media for policy decisions.
AnsweredQoN 965Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE FINANCES —
DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
965. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to responsible financial management and
ensuring the state's finances are on a sustainable footing. Can the
Treasurer outline to the house the importance of Treasury in responsible
financial management, and can the Treasurer advise the house whether this
government's plan for restoring the state's finances includes
running a poll on social media; and, if not, why not?
DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
965. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to responsible financial management and
ensuring the state's finances are on a sustainable footing. Can the
Treasurer outline to the house the importance of Treasury in responsible
financial management, and can the Treasurer advise the house whether this
government's plan for restoring the state's finances includes
running a poll on social media; and, if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Morley for
that well-articulated question. There has been much debate in this place over
the past few years about financial management, and I suspect that there will be
more debate for the remainder of our term. There are a couple of things I want
to highlight. One is my surprise when, yesterday, the former Treasurer and
current Leader of the Opposition told the house that he suspected that Treasury
bureaucrats had doctored advice to the government to justify the early
completion of the first home buyer boost. That says more about the opposition
than it does about those Treasury officials, who have worked for years to
deliver the successful GST outcome that we saw recently. They have worked hard
for the people of Western Australia and deserve better than a former embittered
Treasurer attacking them for his own record. I congratulate those Treasury
officials for the work they have done.
Another thing surprised me greatly
yesterday, after the debate we have had in this place about what to do with the
goods and services tax money. The opposition described it as a windfall. It is
as though we came across it in a bucket on the side of the road, as opposed to
a wonderful win by the government of Western Australia, led by the Premier,
Mark McGowan. I was surprised yesterday at what I can only assume to be the
Liberal Party equivalent of the Expenditure Review Committee —a tweet
from the Leader of the Opposition that reads —
How do you think the $4.7 billion GST
win should be spent?
We think it should be spent on
- Reducing power bills Reducing water
bills
- Reducing transport costs
- Managing State debt
Tell us what you think the money
should be spent on — it's your money after all!
The Expenditure Review Committee is
not a Twitter poll; that is not the way we go about allocating money. I find it
surprising that after the Leader of the Opposition himself puts out a media
statement saying that the money should all go to retiring debt, he is now
polling the Twitter trolls on social media: how do you think it should be
spent? I dare say the fact that the Liberal Party, during its time in
government, tried to be all things to everyone, and hence left us with record
debt and deficits, highlights the problem that the opposition is yet to learn
from. It should not simply tweet out an expectation about how we spend money:
What do you think, Twitter? What do you think, Facebook? Heavens above. All I say
to the opposition is: do not vacate the field of responsible financial
management; stay here with us. Ultimately, it is a lonely field at the moment,
and I do not want the other mainstream party of Western Australia to simply
vacate it entirely.
Dr M.D. Nahan : Pathetic!
Mr B.S. WYATT : If the Leader
of the Opposition is going to let internet trolls decide his own policy, that
is up to him, but I assure Western Australians that, as a grown-up, mature
government, we will make decisions in the interests of the state, not based on what
ideas internet trolls might like to give the Leader of the Opposition from time
to time.
that well-articulated question. There has been much debate in this place over
the past few years about financial management, and I suspect that there will be
more debate for the remainder of our term. There are a couple of things I want
to highlight. One is my surprise when, yesterday, the former Treasurer and
current Leader of the Opposition told the house that he suspected that Treasury
bureaucrats had doctored advice to the government to justify the early
completion of the first home buyer boost. That says more about the opposition
than it does about those Treasury officials, who have worked for years to
deliver the successful GST outcome that we saw recently. They have worked hard
for the people of Western Australia and deserve better than a former embittered
Treasurer attacking them for his own record. I congratulate those Treasury
officials for the work they have done.
Another thing surprised me greatly
yesterday, after the debate we have had in this place about what to do with the
goods and services tax money. The opposition described it as a windfall. It is
as though we came across it in a bucket on the side of the road, as opposed to
a wonderful win by the government of Western Australia, led by the Premier,
Mark McGowan. I was surprised yesterday at what I can only assume to be the
Liberal Party equivalent of the Expenditure Review Committee —a tweet
from the Leader of the Opposition that reads —
How do you think the $4.7 billion GST
win should be spent?
We think it should be spent on
- Reducing power bills Reducing water
bills
- Reducing transport costs
- Managing State debt
Tell us what you think the money
should be spent on — it's your money after all!
The Expenditure Review Committee is
not a Twitter poll; that is not the way we go about allocating money. I find it
surprising that after the Leader of the Opposition himself puts out a media
statement saying that the money should all go to retiring debt, he is now
polling the Twitter trolls on social media: how do you think it should be
spent? I dare say the fact that the Liberal Party, during its time in
government, tried to be all things to everyone, and hence left us with record
debt and deficits, highlights the problem that the opposition is yet to learn
from. It should not simply tweet out an expectation about how we spend money:
What do you think, Twitter? What do you think, Facebook? Heavens above. All I say
to the opposition is: do not vacate the field of responsible financial
management; stay here with us. Ultimately, it is a lonely field at the moment,
and I do not want the other mainstream party of Western Australia to simply
vacate it entirely.
Dr M.D. Nahan : Pathetic!
Mr B.S. WYATT : If the Leader
of the Opposition is going to let internet trolls decide his own policy, that
is up to him, but I assure Western Australians that, as a grown-up, mature
government, we will make decisions in the interests of the state, not based on what
ideas internet trolls might like to give the Leader of the Opposition from time
to time.
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