❓ Opposition Leader questions the Premier about exceeding his self-imposed debt limit, referencing a past statement and highlighting alleged fiscal failures. The Premier dismisses the question as absurd, defends his government's fiscal management, and outlines strategies to manage debt.
AnsweredQoN 135Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE
FINANCES — DEBT LEVELS
135. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I refer to the Premier's statement on 7 September
2010, when he said, ''I would not want to see in absolute terms state
debt above $20 billion.''
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that state debt is now projected to be $21.8 billion as at 30 June
this year and projected to go to $24 billion within 15 months?
(2) What
specifically did he do as Premier and Treasurer to ensure that the net debt cap
would be met?
(3) In light
of his failure to implement this net debt cap, his failure around leave
liability targets, his failure around the first-term wages policy and
significant failures in the fiscal action plan of the current budget, will he
commit to meeting any and all fiscal targets as may appear in the upcoming
budget?
FINANCES — DEBT LEVELS
135. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I refer to the Premier's statement on 7 September
2010, when he said, ''I would not want to see in absolute terms state
debt above $20 billion.''
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that state debt is now projected to be $21.8 billion as at 30 June
this year and projected to go to $24 billion within 15 months?
(2) What
specifically did he do as Premier and Treasurer to ensure that the net debt cap
would be met?
(3) In light
of his failure to implement this net debt cap, his failure around leave
liability targets, his failure around the first-term wages policy and
significant failures in the fiscal action plan of the current budget, will he
commit to meeting any and all fiscal targets as may appear in the upcoming
budget?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
What an absurd question! The Leader of the Opposition seems to have changed his
priority over the past 48 hours—suddenly it is about state debt. I
thought we were going to have a debate about an inquiry. What happened to that?
Yes, I did make comments in 2010. I
accept what the Leader of the Opposition has said about the date, but I think
$20 billion is about what the state can comfortably handle. Yes, it is above
that and, yes, the government will be doing some things to pull in the level of
state debt. This government has run surpluses. It is working hard on the budget
to achieve surpluses for both the coming financial year and the out years. It
is also going to engage in a series of assets sales, and that will contain
debt.
What an absurd question! The Leader of the Opposition seems to have changed his
priority over the past 48 hours—suddenly it is about state debt. I
thought we were going to have a debate about an inquiry. What happened to that?
Yes, I did make comments in 2010. I
accept what the Leader of the Opposition has said about the date, but I think
$20 billion is about what the state can comfortably handle. Yes, it is above
that and, yes, the government will be doing some things to pull in the level of
state debt. This government has run surpluses. It is working hard on the budget
to achieve surpluses for both the coming financial year and the out years. It
is also going to engage in a series of assets sales, and that will contain
debt.
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