Chief Minister Katy Gallagher has secured a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott as she pushes for help to get Canberra through a time of “stagnation”. Ms Gallagher will also convene four roundtables on Wednesday in her search for ideas to boost activity in the Canberra economy and cushion the blow from the federal budget.
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The 1996 federal budget cuts plunged Canberra into recession, but Ms Gallagher indicated yesterday that, while the ACT budget on June 3 would revise down growth forecasts, it would not forecast recession.
“We are going to predict a period of stagnation for our economy, that is, no growth, but we’re not prepared to predict a period of recession at this point,” she said.
Speaking on Radio National’s ABC, Ms Gallagher renewed her call for a discussion about broadening the base or increasing the rate of the GST, a move that puts her at odds with her federal Labor colleagues.
“I accept that it’s political but it doesn’t change my view that if you’re going to a have a serious discussion on tax reform in this country you cannot exclude the GST,” she said. “So if that puts me in opposition with my federal colleagues so be it, but that’s my own view.”
She stressed again that any changes to the GST would have to make sure people on fixed incomes didn’t bear the brunt.
Ms Gallagher has struggled to get a meeting with Mr Abbott since the federal budget, but finally secured a face-to-face for next week. She will push Mr Abbott on his promise not to damage Canberra.
“If he is genuine about that, if he would like Canberra to do well and the private sector to do well, we are going to need help.”
Ms Gallagher said the Commonwealth would not have launched such an attack on any other city, unfairly singling our Canberra and public servants as an easy target.
“These are real people with real mortgages and real children struggling to make ends meet at times. They should be treated the same as any other Australian, regardless of the fact that they live in Canberra,” she said. “The Commonwealth Government is our BHP, it is our Holden, they are the major employer in town and, when they walk away and withdraw their spending, an economy is going to notice it and we certainly are going to do just that. And in the absence of a structural support package it leaves us out to dry.”
Ms Gallagher’s roundtables each bring together about 10 people for 90-minute sessions in four areas: construction and property, community services, innovation and youth. The groups were being asked for ways to “work together to pull the community through what promises to be quite testing times”, her spokeswoman said. “We’re looking for innovative, clear-eyed and positive approaches to dealing with the challenges we face.''
Ms Gallagher has yet to appoint her high-level advisory group on responses to the federal budget.
