00:00Single mum, Arda Fitzgerald-Cherry, rents through an ACT government-subsidised social
00:07housing scheme.
00:08She counts herself lucky.
00:10When I was uncertain about what my work future was going to look like after I had LAS, I
00:18thought I might be on the pension for a while.
00:21I was looking at public housing and then I realised I was never going to be able to get
00:26into it because it's a three-year wait.
00:27Even for those in a position to consider buying, finding the right home is no picnic.
00:33After shopping around, Mitchie Moses and her husband instead decided to rent with another
00:37couple to save on costs.
00:40It is a bit disheartening and I think if there were more options or if there was more stability
00:48as a renter it wouldn't be as concerning.
00:50It's these issues born of rising cost of living pressures, demand for plentiful affordable
00:55housing and the need to keep the population healthy the Chief Minister says the latest
01:00budget works to address.
01:01We recognise some people are doing it tough in our community at the moment and so the
01:06budget has a particular emphasis on targeted cost of living support.
01:11Those measures include a one-off $250 payment to support apprentices and trainees, a $50
01:17increase to the electricity and gas water rebate to $800, a million dollars in additional
01:22funding for the Future of Education Equity Fund bursary program and an extension of the
01:27Rent Relief Fund to support low-income earners.
01:30We were cognisant of the $300 energy rebate that the Federal Government are paying to
01:35every household regardless of income and we were very conscious of the tax cuts that come
01:41in on the 1st of July and so we felt it was most appropriate to target our resources to
01:47people who weren't going to get significant benefits from the tax cuts.
01:52Previously announced measures include land to be released for around 21,000 new homes,
01:57$285 million over four years for affordable housing and stamp duty concessions and $920
02:04million for new health initiatives but it all has an impact on the ACT's finances.
02:09The Territory's headline net operating balance for this year has slipped from an estimated
02:14$443 million in the red to $831 million.
02:18Next year it's forecast to still be $624 million in deficit and only return to the
02:24black in three years time.
02:26The ACT's net debt by this time next year is expected to be $8.9 billion.
02:32To put that in context, that's about 15.4% of the ACT's economy.
02:37With this graph from the budget papers showing only the Northern Territory and Victoria will
02:42be in a worse position.
02:44When you have a look at the figures based on the Uniform Presentation Framework which
02:48is a measure that every other Treasurer around the country uses, he is delivering us a $1
02:53billion deficit.
02:54I'm not here to deliver a surplus every year for ideological reasons.
02:59I've got to respond to the economic circumstances that our jurisdiction faces and the needs
03:07of this community.
03:08The Government says the Australian Bureau of Statistics continues to underestimate the
03:13ACT's population, meaning the Territory isn't getting its fair share of GST.
03:19And the Federal Government's move away from consultants is reducing revenue from payroll
03:23tax.
03:24The Territory's public service will be a source of savings as they look to reduce their own
03:28costs for consultants, supplies, travel and equipment.
03:32Revenue will also receive a boost from general rates with an overall increase of 3.75%, a
03:384% increase in car-related fees and a 3% bump in adult public transport fares, all
03:44part of a budget that looks far from a pre-election cash splash.
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