This year's territory budget will be in surplus, but is less ambitious due to the Coalition government's surprise election win, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says.
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Mr Barr said the ACT government would be on track to hand down its second consecutive surplus budget on Tuesday, but said the ACT would have to go it alone when it came to infrastructure funding.
"This has been an unusual budget process, because this has been the first time in self-government that a federal election has happened in the middle of budget season," Mr Barr told ABC radio.
"That's effectively meant we had to have two alternative budgets, one for a Coalition government and one for Labor.
"We will deliver a budget that responds to those circumstances, and in short, that means that we will be stepping up our efforts for the local economy, particularly on the infrastructure side."
The 2018-19 budget is expected to return a $44 million surplus, up from the original forecast of $36 million predicted in the 2018 budget.
The 2018-19 mid-year budget update had projected the surplus to reduce to $1.5 million but the ACT government said it is now expected to be more in line with the original forecast of $36 million.
Mr Barr said no significant deficits had been forecast for coming years and that the ACT government's fiscal strategy would remain the same.
"We will be looking over a seven-year period of an accumulated surplus of $400 million, but that doesn't mean there would be a surplus every year," Mr Barr said.
"The territory economy is pretty well placed, but there are some pressures, and we are getting on with investing in the health system and in local government responsibilities."
The Chief Minister said the ACT had been boosted by strong employment growth and well-performing payroll taxes, despite a softening housing market.
He said infrastructure funding was critical, as Canberra's population rapidly increases.
"There isn't a large Commonwealth infrastructure program for the ACT," he said.
"There's some money for road projects, but that money is towards the back end of forward estimates in the early 2020s rather than immediately.
"We will structure the budget to structure around that reality and some of the growth pressure we're experiencing as our population and economy grow faster than projected."
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
