NIGEL NO FRIENDS
Scullion goes AWOL after $2 billion GST cut CLP push to remove Territory Senator
TREASURER Scott Morrison promised not to tinker with the Territory’s share of the GST, NT Opposition Leader and notional political ally Gary Higgins said yesterday.
Mr Morrison’s office has rejected the claim, as the reality of $2 billion in reduced GST funding begins to bite.
Mr Higgins said GST revenues underpinned the Territory budget and a cut of this size was a huge blow.
“Last year I secured a commitment from the Federal Treasurer not to amend the GST relativities,” he said.
“The $2 billion GST cut is not a Gunner Labor Government problem, it’s a Northern Territory problem.”
Mr Morrison’s office issued a short response.
“The Treasurer absolutely and categorically denies the assertion. Such an assertion misunderstands how the GST process works.”
News broke on Friday that the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s annual update showed our GST share would fall from 5.3 per cent to 4.7 per cent next financial year.
The CGC estimates the NT will lose out on close to $2 billion across the four years to 2020-21 – half of the Territory’s revenue comes from GST.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner told the party faithful in his opening speech at this weekend’s Labor conference that the Feds had let the NT down.
“While I have a good working relationship – and will maintain a good working relationship with the Turnbull Government – we have fundamental differences of opinion about the direction of this country and the Territory’s place in it,” he said.
At a press conference yesterday Treasurer Nicole Manison promised Territorians she would “relentlessly” knock on doors in Canberra to get a bigger share of the pie.
“It really, really makes things in the Northern Territory quite challenging going forward, particularly at a time when we have a slowing economy and we know that, unlike the big states and the people living on the East Coast, we’ve got a raft of challenges that they simply cannot comprehend,” she said.
“We have a very small population base, we have the highest level of disadvantaged people in this nation, we have the biggest deficits in health, education, infrastructure, housing, particularly out bush.”
Ms Manison said although the Government would remain committed to delivering its election promises it would be “irresponsible” to make good on its aim of returning the Territory to surplus by 2019-20.
When asked if she would consider walking away from the Territory’s commitment to fund half of the Royal Commission, about $25 million, Ms Manison said no.
“We are committed to the Royal Commission and playing our part in that ... but I certainly have raised with Canberra that when the Royal Commission is done and there will be findings that we would like to see what investment they will make in that and certainly we will absolutely be pursuing them for support in that regard.”
An average $500 million annual cut equates to about 5000 teachers, nurses or police officers each year.
Unions representing our teachers, police and nurses have warned that any cut to these vital services would be disastrous for Territorians.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation NT branch secretary Yvonne Falckh said cutting the number of nurses at the coalface was out of the question.
“We’ve seen it over the years that whenever somebody has a bright idea on how they’re going to trim the budget and they put a freeze on maybe clerical staff or wardsmen but then who picks up that work? It is always a nurse,” she said.
“I want to make it very clear that the ANMF NT will object strongly to nurses and midwives taking on non-nursing duties in order to be able to make cuts to spending.
“The person who would suffer in the end is the patient,” she said.
Australian Education Union NT branch president Jarvis Ryan said his union was concerned for students in the Territory
“We’ve just turned around from several years of big cuts to teachers and staff numbers and we’ve got a government now that is committed to putting money back into edu- cation but we’re concerned ... school funding will take a hit as a result of this,” he said.
“Our members are doing it very tough at the moment, their workloads are crushing ... if the cuts are equivalent to 5000 teachers, well we only employ 3000 teachers in the whole of the Territory.
Mr Ryan said he hoped Canberra understood the NT’s unique position.
“When you look at the levels of disadvantage the Territory is facing, we’re coming from so far behind the rest of Australia and we really need very heavy levels of investment over time.”
Northern Territory Police Association president Paul McCue said police numbers were already less than they were four years ago.
“In the current environment of soaring crime rates across the Territory, it would be of great concern to our association that an easy fix for the Government may be to further compromise resources available in law and order,” he said.
“The community would expect the Government to
keep its promise to recruit at maximum over its first term.”
The union representing public servants said it would work with the Gunner Government to protect public sector workers.
“The CPSU’s first priority is to fight for the Turnbull Government to increase Commonwealth funding for other programs in the Federal Budget, to counter this massive and unfair cut, pushing for the Territorians to be treated fairly and not like second-class citizens,” CPSU NT Regional Secretary Kay Densley said.