Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says the Gunner Labor Government has purposely
tied the dodgy debt ceiling into the budget legislation, and Estimates, hoping it wouldn’t be
noticed.
“The arrogance of the Gunner Government trying to shut down an Opposition motion to
unwind the debt ceiling from the Budget, before the words even came out of my mouth, is
extraordinary and unprecedented.
“Tangling the two is all part of a sneaky plan to ensure the Chief Minister’s debt ceiling
escapes crucial scrutiny – which is usually applied to every piece of legislation during
unlimited questioning on the floor of Parliament.
“The CLP can’t support a so-called debt ceiling that, instead of reining in out-of-control
spending, will give the green light to the fiscally inept Gunner Government to stream towards
$15 billion.
“The Territory’s net debt currently sits at $7.7 billion and is forecast to balloon past $9 billion
next year and to $11.4 billion in 2024-25. Interest payments will increase to $1.3 million every
day over the same period and debt per Territorian will grow to close to $50,000.
“Two years after the Langoulant ‘Plan for Budget Repair’ was released, the Chief Minister,
who is also the Treasurer, finally committed to a ceiling – a $15 billion cap we hoped would
pull up the handbrake on Labor’s out-of-control spending.
“But what we’ve uncovered is that Michael Gunner hasn’t put a limit on debt at all. In fact,
this so-called debt ceiling only targets borrowings. It can be scrapped at any time and comes
with a long list of exemptions which means zero penalties for Government or Ministers who
breach that $15 billion cap.
“This Bill is nothing more than a cynical box-ticking exercise so Labor can say it is
implementing recommendations from the Langoulant report.
“The Estimates process isn’t long enough to get through all of our questions on the budget,
let alone the debt-ceiling. Territorians are being robbed of proper process and government
accountability.
“The dousing of debate by this insecure and incompetent government is another blow to
transparency and scrutiny in the Northern Territory. If the Gunner Government has nothing
to hide, then the Chief Minister should do his job and face examination of his ‘debt ceiling’ –
which is a ‘debt ceiling’ only by name.
“We flat out reject the Chief Minister’s so-called ‘debt ceiling’ and we don’t support its
passage as part of the Financial Integrity and Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2021,” said
Ms Finocchiaro.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Gerard Maley, labelled the Gunner Government’s decision
to also shut down a motion to launch a parliamentary probe into the ICAC Act a shocking
display of dictatorship.
“The CLP Opposition is staunch in its position that any review of the ICAC legislation must be
conducted with public submissions and public hearings. It shouldn’t be a secret report by the
Chief Minister, who seems to forget the ICAC isn’t a government tool.
“The only way to restore public confidence in the ICAC Commissioner, and Commission,
following a swath of errors in process and judgement including: Ken Fleming QC’s ‘black lives
matter’ comments at a rally following the critical incident at Yuendumu, releasing a report
which named two people who were denied natural justice after failing to check a junk mail
folder, investigations launched in conflicts of interest within the ICAC office, and the
Commissioner’s shocking Estimates whistle blower comments, is with a public inquiry.
“Labor though, is more than happy to deprive Territorians of a crucial democratic process and
quashed our motion,” said Mr Maley.
ENDS