Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson has used his budget reply to sound a warning on the amount of debt being accrued by the ACT government.
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Mr Hanson told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday Treasurer Andrew Barr's 2013-14 budget showed a ''breathtaking disregard for fiscal responsibility'' with borrowings to ''skyrocket to $3.5 billion'' over the next four years.
The Canberra Liberals leader called for more scrutiny of the government, including a doubling in the number of performance audits by the ACT Auditor-General during this political term.
Mr Hanson demanded the government cap what it would spend on the Capital Metro project and also make the Public Service Commissioner an independent statutory authority who could better investigate ''nepotism, bullying and improper behaviour within government''.
Mr Hanson quoted the speech Jon Stanhope used to launch Labor's 2001 election campaign, telling the Assembly the government was ''drifting towards being lazy, arrogant, aloof and accident-prone''.
''There is no better demonstration of those attributes than the budget paper that was delivered by this government two days ago,'' he said. ''It is a document marked by soaring debt, massive deficits an astonishing failure of delivery and, more than anything, an extraordinary level of deceit.''
Mr Hanson said the budget papers exposed a list of ''delayed or deleted projects'' and little in the way of actual construction of infrastructure.
He attacked plans to cut $143 million from ACT directorates over the next four years, accusing Chief Minister Katy Gallagher again of ''dishonesty'' during last year's territory election campaign with claims ACT Labor promises were fully funded.
''Katy Gallagher and Andrew Barr claimed that there would be no job losses,'' Mr Hanson said. ''Tell that to the 100 staff being cut from the Education Directorate, or the 17 at CIT.
''Tell that to the 38 staff being cut from Community Services Directorate.''
Mr Hanson called for more accountability, including a new central authority within the Chief Minister's Directorate to conduct ''proper'' regulatory impact statements on all legislation and release them.
He wanted funding to the Auditor-General increased to double the amount of performance audits by 2016, beginning with ACTEW.
Mr Hanson also renewed the Liberals' calls for a fifth Supreme Court judge, an autism school and a halving of fees for local sporting clubs.
He said the government should reconsider its decision to scrap funding for champion marathon runner Robert de Castella's anti-obesity program for school students.
Mr Hanson said the light rail network should not be built without a cap on expenditure and savaged the 2 per cent pay increase offered to the territory's public servants.
''Lastly, Madam Speaker, we would not talk down this town,'' he said.
''Since this time last year, we have heard nothing from this government but dire predictions of disaster.
''The constant, incessant talk of how a change of government will kill this town, while at the same time blowing the budget, racking up debt, and cutting jobs and services, has actually caused a slowdown that we see right now.''