❓ Mr. Michael questions the Treasurer on S&P's assessment of the government's financial management and the importance of bipartisan support for budget repair. The Treasurer responds by attacking the opposition's financial record and commitment to budget savings.
AnsweredQoN 567Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE FINANCES — CREDIT RATING
567. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Treasurer:
I refer to today's
announcement by Standard and Poor's Global to maintain the state's
credit rating. Can the Treasurer outline to the house what the credit rating
agency has said about this government's commitment to strong financial
management and what S&P has said about why it is important for the Liberal
and National Parties to support this government's budget repair
measures?
567. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Treasurer:
I refer to today's
announcement by Standard and Poor's Global to maintain the state's
credit rating. Can the Treasurer outline to the house what the credit rating
agency has said about this government's commitment to strong financial
management and what S&P has said about why it is important for the Liberal
and National Parties to support this government's budget repair
measures?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that very
good question. What I think I will do is highlight the fact that that first
question from the Leader of the Opposition highlights the fact that the credit
rating agencies know that the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Party is
the greatest risk to the finances of Western Australia! That is what the credit
rating agencies have confirmed today. Before I talk about and quote at some
length what the credit rating agency S&P Global said today, I want to start
with context, because everything has context. This is what the same credit
rating agency said of the Liberal Party in 2015 when it downgraded Western Australia
to the current level. Referring to slippage, it said that slippage reflects —
� in our view, limited political will
to make difficult decisions.
That probably categorises the story
of the former Liberal government. I remember the mineral royalty rate analysis,
some $500 million, being brought in and pulled out.
Mrs
L.M. Harvey interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Scarborough!
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I remember the fees for visa students being brought in and
pulled out. Time and again decisions made by the former government were pulled
out of its budget. Is there any wonder there was limited political will? Of
course, one of the things I discussed with the credit rating agencies not that
long ago, Leader of the Opposition, was the fact that the Liberal opposition
now is voting in the upper house to pull out of its own budget savings
measures! It was not lost on people, Leader of the Opposition, the fact that,
albeit small, he is now in a position in which his hopeless political will in
government has followed him all the way to opposition so that he is now
opposing his own budget initiatives. That is where we are.
I want to quote what S&P Global
had to say. I want to read a couple of quotes. One states —
At the time of writing, the proposed
gold royalty hike was being blocked in the parliament. (We expect that the
government will enact other measures to make up this revenue if the legislation
is ultimately unsuccessful.) These policies indicate the government's
willingness to improve budgetary performance during the next few years.
Exactly! This government does have
the willingness to improve our budgetary position. Unfortunately, the Liberal Party,
which went through the finances like a great wrecking ball, is now refusing to
be part of the solution. I want to highlight one thing, because there is
actually an upside according to S&P Global.
Mr
D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman!
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I want to read what the upside is. Listen to this, Bateman; you
are learning a bit now. ''We could revise the outlook —
The
SPEAKER : Member, it is the member for Bateman, not Bateman.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : Member for Bateman; sorry. I will teach you something now,
member for Bateman. I quote S&P Global —
We could revise the outlook to stable
if we perceive that the government remains highly committed to improving its
budgetary performance � This commitment would be demonstrated by its spending
and revenue policies and their successful implementation �
Let me tell members one thing. The
government is absolutely determined to fix the mess that was created by the
Liberal Party, but I say to the opposition: is it going to be part of this or
is it going to continue to be budget wreckers like it was when the Leader of
the Opposition was Treasurer of this state?
good question. What I think I will do is highlight the fact that that first
question from the Leader of the Opposition highlights the fact that the credit
rating agencies know that the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Party is
the greatest risk to the finances of Western Australia! That is what the credit
rating agencies have confirmed today. Before I talk about and quote at some
length what the credit rating agency S&P Global said today, I want to start
with context, because everything has context. This is what the same credit
rating agency said of the Liberal Party in 2015 when it downgraded Western Australia
to the current level. Referring to slippage, it said that slippage reflects —
� in our view, limited political will
to make difficult decisions.
That probably categorises the story
of the former Liberal government. I remember the mineral royalty rate analysis,
some $500 million, being brought in and pulled out.
Mrs
L.M. Harvey interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Scarborough!
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I remember the fees for visa students being brought in and
pulled out. Time and again decisions made by the former government were pulled
out of its budget. Is there any wonder there was limited political will? Of
course, one of the things I discussed with the credit rating agencies not that
long ago, Leader of the Opposition, was the fact that the Liberal opposition
now is voting in the upper house to pull out of its own budget savings
measures! It was not lost on people, Leader of the Opposition, the fact that,
albeit small, he is now in a position in which his hopeless political will in
government has followed him all the way to opposition so that he is now
opposing his own budget initiatives. That is where we are.
I want to quote what S&P Global
had to say. I want to read a couple of quotes. One states —
At the time of writing, the proposed
gold royalty hike was being blocked in the parliament. (We expect that the
government will enact other measures to make up this revenue if the legislation
is ultimately unsuccessful.) These policies indicate the government's
willingness to improve budgetary performance during the next few years.
Exactly! This government does have
the willingness to improve our budgetary position. Unfortunately, the Liberal Party,
which went through the finances like a great wrecking ball, is now refusing to
be part of the solution. I want to highlight one thing, because there is
actually an upside according to S&P Global.
Mr
D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman!
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I want to read what the upside is. Listen to this, Bateman; you
are learning a bit now. ''We could revise the outlook —
The
SPEAKER : Member, it is the member for Bateman, not Bateman.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : Member for Bateman; sorry. I will teach you something now,
member for Bateman. I quote S&P Global —
We could revise the outlook to stable
if we perceive that the government remains highly committed to improving its
budgetary performance � This commitment would be demonstrated by its spending
and revenue policies and their successful implementation �
Let me tell members one thing. The
government is absolutely determined to fix the mess that was created by the
Liberal Party, but I say to the opposition: is it going to be part of this or
is it going to continue to be budget wreckers like it was when the Leader of
the Opposition was Treasurer of this state?
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