The ACT Chief Minister, who is also the Territory's Treasurer, has delivered his final budget before the October election. Andrew Barr emphasised targeted cost of living support. However, some of the ACT's key financial figures are worse than forecasted. The Liberal opposition criticised Labor's financial management. ACT Political Reporter Harry Frost has more details.
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00:00Single mum, Arda Fitzgerald-Cherry, rents through an ACT government-subsidised social
00:07housing scheme.
00:08She counts herself lucky.
00:10When I was uncertain about what my work future was going to look like after I had LAS, I
00:18thought I might be on the pension for a while.
00:21I was looking at public housing and then I realised I was never going to be able to get
00:26into it because it's a three-year wait.
00:27Even for those in a position to consider buying, finding the right home is no picnic.
00:33After shopping around, Mitchie Moses and her husband instead decided to rent with another
00:37couple to save on costs.
00:40It is a bit disheartening and I think if there were more options or if there was more stability
00:48as a renter it wouldn't be as concerning.
00:50It's these issues born of rising cost of living pressures, demand for plentiful affordable
00:55housing and the need to keep the population healthy the Chief Minister says the latest
01:00budget works to address.
01:01We recognise some people are doing it tough in our community at the moment and so the
01:06budget has a particular emphasis on targeted cost of living support.
01:11Those measures include a one-off $250 payment to support apprentices and trainees, a $50
01:17increase to the electricity and gas water rebate to $800, a million dollars in additional
01:22funding for the Future of Education Equity Fund bursary program and an extension of the
01:27Rent Relief Fund to support low-income earners.
01:30We were cognisant of the $300 energy rebate that the Federal Government are paying to
01:35every household regardless of income and we were very conscious of the tax cuts that come
01:41in on the 1st of July and so we felt it was most appropriate to target our resources to
01:47people who weren't going to get significant benefits from the tax cuts.
01:52Previously announced measures include land to be released for around 21,000 new homes,
01:57$285 million over four years for affordable housing and stamp duty concessions and $920
02:04million for new health initiatives but it all has an impact on the ACT's finances.
02:09The Territory's headline net operating balance for this year has slipped from an estimated
02:14$443 million in the red to $831 million.
02:18Next year it's forecast to still be $624 million in deficit and only return to the
02:24black in three years time.
02:26The ACT's net debt by this time next year is expected to be $8.9 billion.
02:32To put that in context, that's about 15.4% of the ACT's economy.
02:37With this graph from the budget papers showing only the Northern Territory and Victoria will
02:42be in a worse position.
02:44When you have a look at the figures based on the Uniform Presentation Framework which
02:48is a measure that every other Treasurer around the country uses, he is delivering us a $1
02:53billion deficit.
02:54I'm not here to deliver a surplus every year for ideological reasons.
02:59I've got to respond to the economic circumstances that our jurisdiction faces and the needs
03:07of this community.
03:08The Government says the Australian Bureau of Statistics continues to underestimate the
03:13ACT's population, meaning the Territory isn't getting its fair share of GST.
03:19And the Federal Government's move away from consultants is reducing revenue from payroll
03:23tax.
03:24The Territory's public service will be a source of savings as they look to reduce their own
03:28costs for consultants, supplies, travel and equipment.
03:32Revenue will also receive a boost from general rates with an overall increase of 3.75%, a
03:384% increase in car-related fees and a 3% bump in adult public transport fares, all
03:44part of a budget that looks far from a pre-election cash splash.