Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro says the fact the NT Government thinks it's heading back towards surplus is an "embarrassing situation"

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro says the fact the NT Government thinks it's heading back towards surplus is an "embarrassing situation" · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But we know the Northern Territory budget is going to
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  Speaker 1: be handed down in a bit under an hour. We
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  Speaker 1: will get a better understanding of the level of debt
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: that the Northern Territory is in and also where money
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  Speaker 1: is set to be invested. Now, the government tells the
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  Speaker 1: paper today that the territory is going to be back
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  Speaker 1: in the black by twenty twenty six, with deficits set
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  Speaker 1: to be rained in. That's according to estimates which will
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  Speaker 1: be included in today's budget. The improvements in debt and
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  Speaker 1: deficit levels, they say, can be attributed to the extra
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  Speaker 1: GST revenue flowing into the Northern Territory's coffers. Joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line is the Opposition leader Leah fanochiiro good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Leah.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, I know that some people's eyes are going
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  Speaker 1: to be glazing over thinking about the budget this morning
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  Speaker 1: and what it means for them, but it is really
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  Speaker 1: important that they get a better understanding of how the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory is placed. We know that the government's told
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  Speaker 1: the NT News that they're set to be back in
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  Speaker 1: the black by twenty twenty six. The Chief Minister Michael Gunner,
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  Speaker 1: who's also the treasurer, reportedly going to hand down a
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  Speaker 1: one point one billion dollar deficit for the upcoming financial year.
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  Speaker 1: It's one hundred million dollars better than previously forecast.
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  Speaker 3: Lea, are these numbers good?
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  Speaker 2: They're really not, Katie. It's really an embarrassing situation. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: how the government can pretend like we're going to be
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  Speaker 2: back in the black in a couple of years time
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  Speaker 2: is absolutely beyond me. We know today's budget is going
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  Speaker 2: to deliver an eight to nine billion dollar debt. We
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  Speaker 2: know the deficit is going to be around that billion
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  Speaker 2: dollar mark. And the reason these figures are so important
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  Speaker 2: to territories, and you're right, people do glaze over because
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  Speaker 2: it's huge. It's inconceivable amounts of money, and I guess
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  Speaker 2: when you get to that point, you sort of think, well,
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  Speaker 2: why does that matter? But it matters because what we
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  Speaker 2: see is services being cut. We see things like the
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  Speaker 2: four year public service pay frees, We see things like
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  Speaker 2: the solar rebate being canceled for those who are meant
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  Speaker 2: to be grand funded under the scheme. So it's really
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  Speaker 2: important that our budget is under control because at the
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  Speaker 2: end of the day, it cuts to services.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I do want to know.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously, public servants have been taking industrial action in recent
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  Speaker 1: weeks against this pay freeze. Do you think that the
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  Speaker 1: government needs to reverse this decision.
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  Speaker 2: We don't think that they should be doing the pay
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  Speaker 2: frees at all. We want to see real, genuine wages grows.
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  Speaker 2: The Territorians were forced to spend untold amounts of money
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  Speaker 2: on the Langoland Plan for budget repair. That plan clearly
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  Speaker 2: says that there should be one thousand dollars a year
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  Speaker 2: genuine pay rise for the public service, and we've always
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  Speaker 2: supported that position. It's reasonable, it's fiscally responsible, and it
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  Speaker 2: means that in four years time, public servants won't be
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  Speaker 2: negotiating their new pay level at a twenty twenty two
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  Speaker 2: pay It's just craziness to think that you can trick
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  Speaker 2: people into a pay free for four long years. And
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  Speaker 2: our nurses and corrections officers are striking against labor because
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  Speaker 2: this is unreasonable. It is unfair, and what we're seeing
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  Speaker 2: is the labor government punishing Territorians for its wasteful spending,
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  Speaker 2: for its fiscal mismanagement, and this will deliver exactly that,
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  Speaker 2: just more pain for people and more debts.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, what numbers are you going to be looking out
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  Speaker 1: for when the budget is handed down in a bit
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  Speaker 1: under an hour.
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  Speaker 3: What are you going to be keeping an eye out for?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that deficit number is really really important. Matt
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  Speaker 2: tells us how much more we're spending than how much
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  Speaker 2: we earn them for the average household, that's a number
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  Speaker 2: we all look at really really closely. You know, you
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  Speaker 2: get your salary or you get your wages if you're lucky,
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  Speaker 2: and then you work out right, well, this month, we can't,
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  Speaker 2: you know, do this. We can't do that. We might
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  Speaker 2: only go out for dinner once. We can't buy the
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  Speaker 2: new TV we want it. And those are the decisions
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  Speaker 2: territorians make every single day. They look at what is
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  Speaker 2: coming in and then tailor what is going out to
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  Speaker 2: match it or hopefully be under it. But this government
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  Speaker 2: doesn't play by that rules. It takes territorians harder and
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  Speaker 2: taxpayer dollars and just blows it against the wall. It
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  Speaker 2: just spends far more than we bring in. I know
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  Speaker 2: from last budget, Katie, the predictions on revenue from onshore
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  Speaker 2: gas and revenue from mining were taper off. I mean
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  Speaker 2: on sure gas is zero and mining even was going down.
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  Speaker 2: These are some of the only areas of revenue the
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  Speaker 2: territory government gets, so things are pretty dire and it's
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  Speaker 2: not you know, I find it ironic that the Chief
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  Speaker 2: Minister parated around his newborn child as part of his
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  Speaker 2: budget announcement. You know, it's that childhood that is going
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  Speaker 2: to be paying back this debt and it's a legacy
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  Speaker 2: that he is leaving all of our children, and I
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  Speaker 2: think that's unfair to cripple their future because of his
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  Speaker 2: economic and fiscal mismanagement.
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  Speaker 1: So obviously that deficit that's going to be something that
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  Speaker 1: you'll be keeping an eye on. Lea. Are you hoping
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  Speaker 1: to see investment in any areas well?
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  Speaker 2: I'm not holding my breath. I think we're going to
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  Speaker 2: hear a lot of guff that people just roll their
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  Speaker 2: eyes over and get back to work over. I think
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  Speaker 2: we're going to hear record spends, record budgets, record this
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  Speaker 2: record that it falls flat and it means nothing. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we've got nearly eight billion dollars more debt than we
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  Speaker 2: had when this labor government came to power, and what
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  Speaker 2: have we got to show for it? I mean, look around,
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  Speaker 2: look out your office window now, if you're out on
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  Speaker 2: a work site, can you see that is a result
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  Speaker 2: of that kind of spending. There is nothing to hang
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  Speaker 2: your hat on. There's a shadeless shade structure and we've
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  Speaker 2: got a pet project grandstand out of the turf club.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, this is going to be a batter,
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  Speaker 2: beaten and bruised budget, I think, Katie. And unfortunately, for
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  Speaker 2: six young long years, this labor government has had the
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to deliver and they've failed every single time. And well,
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  Speaker 2: I don't think this year.
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  Speaker 3: We know that, we know that.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously, the GST has been a point of contention over
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  Speaker 1: a number of years. There has been a lot of
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  Speaker 1: pushback from the Northern Territory government saying that our carve
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  Speaker 1: up of the GST essentially you know, wasn't fair and
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  Speaker 1: that was what had meant that our debt looks so bad,
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  Speaker 1: or that things look so bad in recent years. It
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  Speaker 1: looks as though that's going to change to some degree
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  Speaker 1: this year. Do you think they'll be thanking the federal
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  Speaker 1: governments talk.
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  Speaker 2: About changing their cheering. I mean, when these guys came
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  Speaker 2: to power, they hold from the rooftops about some fictitious
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  Speaker 2: two billion dollars in cuts I remember, which was total
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  Speaker 2: ludicrous garbage. I mean creative accounting at its best, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: And now we've got the only reason that the Gunner
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  Speaker 2: government's budget position is any better this year is because
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  Speaker 2: of a GST windfall from the Morrison coalition government. So
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  Speaker 2: thank you very much, Morrison government. Thank you for the
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  Speaker 2: extra three hundred and eighty five million dollars in GST
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  Speaker 2: that our woe for Labor government wasn't expecting. And all
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  Speaker 2: I can say is thank goodness for the FEDS. I mean, honestly,
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  Speaker 2: they are investing more in the territory, propping up our budget,
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  Speaker 2: propping up everything around us, because this Labor team are
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  Speaker 2: just tired. They have failed to deliver, they've failed to
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  Speaker 2: provide a vision for the future and on the sea.
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  Speaker 2: They should really just pack up their bags and go
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  Speaker 2: because it's almost like they've completely given up on the
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  Speaker 2: territory with the way they're governing at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, we'll take a closer look into exactly you
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  Speaker 1: know what detail is in this budget after ten o'clock
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  Speaker 1: this morning, and we will be speaking to the Chief
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  Speaker 1: Finister tomorrow morning. I know you'll be delivering your budget
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  Speaker 1: reply tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. But Lea, it's not
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  Speaker 1: the only thing that's on the agenda with obviously the
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  Speaker 1: budgets being had down, but Parliament resumes for the next
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  Speaker 1: two weeks and there's going to be plenty on the agenda.
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  Speaker 1: I understand that the Opposition is going to be presenting
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  Speaker 1: the Sentencing Amendment Bill for twenty twenty two in an effort,
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  Speaker 1: from what your pressure release says, to ensure every offender
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  Speaker 1: who assaults a territory worker will face an actual term
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  Speaker 1: of imprisonment.
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  Speaker 3: Why do you think this is necessary?
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  Speaker 2: We have seen assaults on territory workers, so not just police.
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  Speaker 2: Assaults on police and ambos and corrections officers and nurses
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  Speaker 2: has been horrific and is escalating. But we're seeing it
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  Speaker 2: right across the board. People in their workplace, whether they
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  Speaker 2: work at a takeaway outlet, at a supermarket, out on
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  Speaker 2: a work side, it doesn't matter where you work. Our
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  Speaker 2: view is anybody in their place of work should be
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  Speaker 2: absolutely safe, and the COLP is backing in territory workers
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  Speaker 2: by bringing in our own legislation to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: any assault, even for a first time offender, results in
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  Speaker 2: an actual term of imprisonment. I think we need to
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  Speaker 2: send the strongest possible message too would be offenders that
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  Speaker 2: our community will no longer tolerate assaults on workers. We
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  Speaker 2: are so disappointed that the Gunner government have not said
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  Speaker 2: they would support this legislation. We can't get this legislation
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  Speaker 2: to become law without labor backing it, and so we
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  Speaker 2: are asking labor they are meant to be the party
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  Speaker 2: for the worker, They've completely forgotten their routes. If labor
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  Speaker 2: really are the party for the worker, then they need
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  Speaker 2: to support legislation brought in by the CLP that protects
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  Speaker 2: the worker.
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  Speaker 1: It's looking, I mean, it is looking more and more
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  Speaker 1: as though it's not going to go forward. You know,
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  Speaker 1: the government at this stage doesn't look as though they're
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  Speaker 1: going to support this legislation. I mean, Leah, is there
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  Speaker 1: any circumstance where someone who assaults a frontline worker shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: be facing a mandatory sentence.
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  Speaker 2: I think anyone who assaults a frontline worker should at
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  Speaker 2: least serve an actual term of imprisonment. It's really important
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  Speaker 2: that as law makers we reflect community sentiment about what
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  Speaker 2: the things are that we hold important, the value that
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  Speaker 2: we have people in their workplace are particularly vulnerable. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we're asking people to go to work, We're asking people
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  Speaker 2: to stand on counters, to go into difficult situations, to
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  Speaker 2: help people in their greatest time of need, to support
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  Speaker 2: people while they're incarcerated, whatever it might be. And if
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  Speaker 2: they're assaulted doing their job, you know that is has
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  Speaker 2: a higher level attached to it and we need to
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  Speaker 2: be pushing back as a communion saying enough is enough.
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  Speaker 2: This escalation cannot continue. And you know what if someone
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  Speaker 2: sits in a jail cell, even for a day, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: it might make them think twice about acting like an
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  Speaker 2: idiot next time.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, one of the other pieces of legislation which
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  Speaker 1: is going to be introduced is to ensure regular reporting
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  Speaker 1: from the chief Health officers. So this is something that
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  Speaker 1: the opposition is bringing in. Again, it doesn't sound like
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  Speaker 1: there's any real chance of getting this one up, thy Yeah, look, we.
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  Speaker 2: Are really hopeful. Of course, the Gunner government just sprung
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  Speaker 2: on territories two months ago that it's going to end
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  Speaker 2: the COVID emergency period, which I think most people are
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  Speaker 2: thankful for. But surprise, whilst we're going to you know,
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  Speaker 2: labor are going to cancel the emergency period. They're also
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  Speaker 2: going to give the Choe all the power of the
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  Speaker 2: state of emergency for two years. They're going to remove
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  Speaker 2: the requirement that the Choe report to Parliament. And it
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  Speaker 2: is just a ridiculous, unheard of, unprecedented situation where an
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  Speaker 2: unelected official is going to have more power than they've
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  Speaker 2: ever had before without adequate levels of scrutiny. So we
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  Speaker 2: are vehemently opposing that bill. I will be tabling a
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  Speaker 2: petition in Parliament today with thousands and thousands of signatures
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  Speaker 2: of people who oppose it, and to combat that legislation,
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  Speaker 2: we are also bringing in our own legislation which would
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  Speaker 2: require the Chow to report to Parliament on all the
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  Speaker 2: advice and everything and all the evidence, everything that's happened
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  Speaker 2: for the last two years and any decisions he makes
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  Speaker 2: going forward. But if Labor get their bill up, we
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  Speaker 2: won't ever know what took place over the line.
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  Speaker 3: How many people have signed that petition.
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  Speaker 2: There's well over four thousand, well over four thousand, okay,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm sure there's probably people signing it today. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: obviously we have to put it through the parliament due process.
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  Speaker 2: So from our end, it's kind of stopped, but if
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: you're out there, keep signing it. It's an important, living,
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  Speaker 2: breathing document and it's a show of force to the
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  Speaker 2: Gunner government that they've overstepped the mark on this one.
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  Speaker 2: People have had enough and it's about time we see
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  Speaker 2: some scrutiny and it's about time we stop giving unelected
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  Speaker 2: officials power to shut down our businesses, force us into isolation,
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: and of course receive mandatory injections.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, we have just received a message saying Lea's great
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: at talking the current government down.
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  Speaker 3: We're all tired of the negative.
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  Speaker 1: So can you ask her to give us some positives,
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  Speaker 1: like her plan to fix this budget situation.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'm so glad you areth that you can tune
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  Speaker 2: in at ten o'clock tomorrow and I will speak for
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: about forty minutes and tell you all about our plan
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: if I was chief minister. But in all seriousness, you
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: know we do have a plan to rebuild our economy.
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  Speaker 2: That's the only way. We don't want to see austerity measures.
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  Speaker 2: We don't want it wasteful spending either. You know there
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: won't be twelve million dollar grand stands, I can assure you,
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: but it's about growing our economy. Make sure we have
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: a strong mining industry, strong on your gas, agriculture getting
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: up and running, supporting local investment here on the ground,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: and dealing with crime. I mean, ultimately, you cannot have
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: a strong economy until Lauren Ord is under control because
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: look at the businesses who are suffering every single day.
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  Speaker 2: They are at breaking point, closing down and leaving because
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: they can't just take it anymore. So these are all
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  Speaker 2: part of our plan. But we do have a very
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: exciting announcement tomorrow, so tune in at ten.
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  Speaker 1: All right, we'll waiting here. Leaf and Acquiiro the opposition leader,
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  Speaker 1: good to speak with you. Thanks for your time today.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks take care every Thank you.