Mr. Barnett questions the Treasurer about the 2000-01 budget surplus, referencing figures from April 2001. Mr. Ripper confirms a surplus but deflects by accusing the opposition of past budget mismanagement.

AnsweredQoN 316Legislative Assembly
Asked
29 August 2001
Member
Portfolio
Treasurer

QuestionView source ↗

BUDGET SURPLUS
Given that the 2000-01 state budget projected a recurrent surplus for the general government sector of $487 million, and given that for the 10 months to 30 April 2001 this surplus had increased to $603.9 million, some $117 million above the budget figure, I ask - (1) The financial year having ended two months ago, has the recurrent budget surplus been achieved? (2) Has the recurrent budget surplus been exceeded as indicated by the results to 30 April 2001; and, if so, by how much? Mr RIPPER

AnswerView source ↗

(1)-(2) As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile - Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
(1) The financial year having ended two months ago, has the recurrent budget surplus been achieved? (2) Has the recurrent budget surplus been exceeded as indicated by the results to 30 April 2001; and, if so, by how much? Mr RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile - Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
(2) Has the recurrent budget surplus been exceeded as indicated by the results to 30 April 2001; and, if so, by how much? Mr RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile - Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile - Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
(1)-(2) As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile - Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr Barnett: Ten months! Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr RIPPER: As the Leader of the Opposition would know, the monthly budget figures are volatile, so there will be influxes of revenue and payments that will produce different results in different months. I say this to the House: there will be a budget surplus for the financial year just gone. Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr Barnett: What happened to Barnett’s black hole? Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Opposition members interjected. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr RIPPER: If opposition members will quieten down a minute, I will tell them about the Barnett budget blow-out. Let us talk, for example, about an enterprise bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union. I wonder which minister was responsible for negotiating that agreement. I think it might have been the Leader of the Opposition. It included a commitment to provide laptops to teachers. Was that funded? No, it was not funded - budget black hole! That is exactly the sort of circumstance we are dealing with. Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr Barnett: You are a fool; you do not understand basic numbers. Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Mr RIPPER: I will give the Leader of the Opposition another example: blow-outs in health expenditure. Last December the coalition was advised of a significant blow-out in the health budget. What did it do? Its budget committee simply resolved to note it and, by resolving to note it and not resolving to fund it, it was not in the pre-election budget statement that was put out by the Treasury. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with - $485 million worth of budget black hole - and it does not relate to the year just gone; it relates to the four years into the future, including the current budget year. Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.
Under our management there will be a budget surplus for the year just gone, and there will be a bigger budget surplus than the previous Government left us with.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more