❓ The Treasurer confirms the budget date and priorities (health, education, police, environment), while also criticising the previous government's financial management and its impact on the current budget.
AnsweredQoN 233Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUDGET, WINNERS
Is the Treasurer aware of media reports that suggest the budget will be brought down on 13 September and that education, police, health and the environment will be the big winners? Mr RIPPER
Is the Treasurer aware of media reports that suggest the budget will be brought down on 13 September and that education, police, health and the environment will be the big winners? Mr RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Innaloo for his question and for his perceptive approach to the issue. I confirm that the budget will be delivered on 13 September. The Government’s budget priority is to honour its election commitments. Our most important election commitments are in the areas of health, education, police and the environment. The Government has been through an intense process of budget preparation; ministers have scrutinised $10 billion worth of expenditure. It has been the most thorough examination of the State’s finances in a decade. In this process I have attended more than 75 expenditure review committee meetings or related briefings. The task has been made more difficult by the legacy of cost blow-outs and unfunded election commitments left to us by the previous Government. If we had not had to deal with that legacy of the coalition Government, we would have had a much easier budget task. I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
Mr RIPPER replied: I thank the member for Innaloo for his question and for his perceptive approach to the issue. I confirm that the budget will be delivered on 13 September. The Government’s budget priority is to honour its election commitments. Our most important election commitments are in the areas of health, education, police and the environment. The Government has been through an intense process of budget preparation; ministers have scrutinised $10 billion worth of expenditure. It has been the most thorough examination of the State’s finances in a decade. In this process I have attended more than 75 expenditure review committee meetings or related briefings. The task has been made more difficult by the legacy of cost blow-outs and unfunded election commitments left to us by the previous Government. If we had not had to deal with that legacy of the coalition Government, we would have had a much easier budget task. I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
I thank the member for Innaloo for his question and for his perceptive approach to the issue. I confirm that the budget will be delivered on 13 September. The Government’s budget priority is to honour its election commitments. Our most important election commitments are in the areas of health, education, police and the environment. The Government has been through an intense process of budget preparation; ministers have scrutinised $10 billion worth of expenditure. It has been the most thorough examination of the State’s finances in a decade. In this process I have attended more than 75 expenditure review committee meetings or related briefings. The task has been made more difficult by the legacy of cost blow-outs and unfunded election commitments left to us by the previous Government. If we had not had to deal with that legacy of the coalition Government, we would have had a much easier budget task. I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
Government members: Hear, hear!
Mr RIPPER replied: I thank the member for Innaloo for his question and for his perceptive approach to the issue. I confirm that the budget will be delivered on 13 September. The Government’s budget priority is to honour its election commitments. Our most important election commitments are in the areas of health, education, police and the environment. The Government has been through an intense process of budget preparation; ministers have scrutinised $10 billion worth of expenditure. It has been the most thorough examination of the State’s finances in a decade. In this process I have attended more than 75 expenditure review committee meetings or related briefings. The task has been made more difficult by the legacy of cost blow-outs and unfunded election commitments left to us by the previous Government. If we had not had to deal with that legacy of the coalition Government, we would have had a much easier budget task. I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
I thank the member for Innaloo for his question and for his perceptive approach to the issue. I confirm that the budget will be delivered on 13 September. The Government’s budget priority is to honour its election commitments. Our most important election commitments are in the areas of health, education, police and the environment. The Government has been through an intense process of budget preparation; ministers have scrutinised $10 billion worth of expenditure. It has been the most thorough examination of the State’s finances in a decade. In this process I have attended more than 75 expenditure review committee meetings or related briefings. The task has been made more difficult by the legacy of cost blow-outs and unfunded election commitments left to us by the previous Government. If we had not had to deal with that legacy of the coalition Government, we would have had a much easier budget task. I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
I can see from the scepticism opposite that the Opposition still has trouble in recognising the legacy that it left to the incoming Government. This is an Opposition that when in government could not admit that it was running deficits. Of course, it ran four deficits in a row. Members opposite cannot admit that the coalition put at risk the State’s AAA credit rating. They try to pretend that the risk to the AAA credit rating has arisen only since the election. The former Government knew about the risk to the AAA credit rating because the Under Treasurer advised it of this in a memorandum dated 18 October 1999. It reads - Although the outlook for the rating remains unchanged as ‘stable’, the commentary suggests that if a trend of increasing deficits and debt in recent years continues in 1999-2000, Standard and Poor’s would reconsider the future direction of the State’s rating (ie signal the possible downgrade of the rating by placing it on a ‘negative watch’). The recommendation of the briefing note to the former Treasurer is - That you note the attached press release from Standard and Poor’s. It is a great pity and a tragedy that the then Government, now the Opposition, did not note that sort of warning that it was getting from the Under Treasurer and did not note what the ratings agencies were saying, but proceeded to make commitments that it did not fund properly and allowed blow-outs in important departments, without recognising those blow-outs in the figures. The previous Government has left this Government with a much more difficult budget task. However, I am confident that when the House sees the budget on 13 September, it will know that this Government, unlike the previous Government, has risen to the challenge. Government members: Hear, hear!
Government members: Hear, hear!
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