❓ Ms. Shaw questions the Treasurer on the McGowan government's financial targets and the impact of the previous government's financial performance. The Treasurer outlines the government's target of a 3% surplus and criticizes the previous government's financial management.
AnsweredQoN 76Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE FINANCES — TARGETS
76. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Treasurer:
Speaking of targets, I refer to the priority of the McGowan
Labor government in repairing the state's finances.
(1) Can the
Treasurer advise the house what target the government has set itself for
repairing the budget and maintaining responsible financial management?
(2) Can the
Treasurer outline to the house what has been the impact of the previous Liberal–National
government's failure to meet the financial targets it set itself?
76. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Treasurer:
Speaking of targets, I refer to the priority of the McGowan
Labor government in repairing the state's finances.
(1) Can the
Treasurer advise the house what target the government has set itself for
repairing the budget and maintaining responsible financial management?
(2) Can the
Treasurer outline to the house what has been the impact of the previous Liberal–National
government's failure to meet the financial targets it set itself?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I do not like to repeat myself but occasionally perhaps I will, because I know
people are keen to hear from me! The Premier announced today a range of targets
that the government had set itself. One of those, of course, which we took very
firmly to the election, was to repair the state's finances. I heard the
interjection from the member for Churchlands along the way, saying, ''What's
your target? What's your goal?'' Our goal is to maintain a surplus
of about three per cent of general government revenue. That is an important
goal and, therefore, target of the government. Why is that? It is not the end
in itself of course. How we go about sustaining and delivering important
services to Western Australians is ensuring that we can pay for them without
borrowing to fund salaries and whatnot, which is exactly the position that the
former government left this government. But a point I have also made is that we
are a state that is vulnerable to external shocks, and having a strong surplus
position puts us in a position to protect ourselves from those.
� It is important to have a goal. In the previous
question I referred to the fact that former Premier Geoff Gallop had to
take a high unemployment rate and drive it back down, the Liberals took it back
up, and now it is our job to set targets to ensure that we create jobs in Western
Australia. I want to remind Western Australians that when the former Labor
government was defeated in 2008, we were looking at a projected $1.9 billion
surplus in 2008–09, net debt at $6.8 billion and a AAA credit rating—a
pretty good set of books.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cottesloe!
Mr B.S. WYATT : And certainly the former Liberal
government saw that and rampaged through it. As a result, what did we inherit
when we came to government? A projected $3 billion deficit in 2016–17,
net debt expected to hit nearly $41.2 billion and multiple credit rating
downgrades; indeed, a disastrous set of books by any stretch of the
imagination. But importantly, all the fiscal targets that had been set by the
former governments were not being met. Not one of them were being met in the
budget. Now we have a scenario in which we are meeting our fiscal targets
because we have taken it upon ourselves to ensure that the finances are managed
in a way that keeps expense growth under control and tries to strip out the
excess spending that was embedded in the budget that left us with the Leader of
the Opposition's structural deficit. This is why we set targets and why
we publicly declare those targets. As I have said before, I am stunned that the
opposition is somehow cranky, annoyed or upset that the government would go
about doing these things. We have set some targets that are ambitious. The
Aboriginal incarceration rate is an ambitious target, but it is an important
one that any government that I want to be a part of sets as a target. Creating
jobs for Western Australians is a good target. I am surprised that we have a matter
of public interest today that shows the opposition is angry about the target
that has been set by the government, but I look forward to participating in
that MPI in a minute.
In the two years since the McGowan Labor government was
elected, the economy is out of recession, we are on our way back to surplus—exactly
as we committed to—and we expect to get there in 2019–20, but
importantly, it is so that we can sustain and deliver services to Western Australians
and create long-term higher wage jobs.
I do not like to repeat myself but occasionally perhaps I will, because I know
people are keen to hear from me! The Premier announced today a range of targets
that the government had set itself. One of those, of course, which we took very
firmly to the election, was to repair the state's finances. I heard the
interjection from the member for Churchlands along the way, saying, ''What's
your target? What's your goal?'' Our goal is to maintain a surplus
of about three per cent of general government revenue. That is an important
goal and, therefore, target of the government. Why is that? It is not the end
in itself of course. How we go about sustaining and delivering important
services to Western Australians is ensuring that we can pay for them without
borrowing to fund salaries and whatnot, which is exactly the position that the
former government left this government. But a point I have also made is that we
are a state that is vulnerable to external shocks, and having a strong surplus
position puts us in a position to protect ourselves from those.
� It is important to have a goal. In the previous
question I referred to the fact that former Premier Geoff Gallop had to
take a high unemployment rate and drive it back down, the Liberals took it back
up, and now it is our job to set targets to ensure that we create jobs in Western
Australia. I want to remind Western Australians that when the former Labor
government was defeated in 2008, we were looking at a projected $1.9 billion
surplus in 2008–09, net debt at $6.8 billion and a AAA credit rating—a
pretty good set of books.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cottesloe!
Mr B.S. WYATT : And certainly the former Liberal
government saw that and rampaged through it. As a result, what did we inherit
when we came to government? A projected $3 billion deficit in 2016–17,
net debt expected to hit nearly $41.2 billion and multiple credit rating
downgrades; indeed, a disastrous set of books by any stretch of the
imagination. But importantly, all the fiscal targets that had been set by the
former governments were not being met. Not one of them were being met in the
budget. Now we have a scenario in which we are meeting our fiscal targets
because we have taken it upon ourselves to ensure that the finances are managed
in a way that keeps expense growth under control and tries to strip out the
excess spending that was embedded in the budget that left us with the Leader of
the Opposition's structural deficit. This is why we set targets and why
we publicly declare those targets. As I have said before, I am stunned that the
opposition is somehow cranky, annoyed or upset that the government would go
about doing these things. We have set some targets that are ambitious. The
Aboriginal incarceration rate is an ambitious target, but it is an important
one that any government that I want to be a part of sets as a target. Creating
jobs for Western Australians is a good target. I am surprised that we have a matter
of public interest today that shows the opposition is angry about the target
that has been set by the government, but I look forward to participating in
that MPI in a minute.
In the two years since the McGowan Labor government was
elected, the economy is out of recession, we are on our way back to surplus—exactly
as we committed to—and we expect to get there in 2019–20, but
importantly, it is so that we can sustain and deliver services to Western Australians
and create long-term higher wage jobs.
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