A few weeks ago, the government began reviewing the 2018 / 19 budget, which is due to be released on May 10.
Western Australia`s economy is expected to rebound from a 2.7 percent decline in fiscal year 2016 to 2.5 percent growth in 2017, in line with forecasts in the mid-term review report for fiscal year 2017 / 18, according to a large number of economic data. Other data also show that Western Australia`s overall economic situation is gradually improving. However, to improve the plight of Western Australia`s budget still requires our persistent efforts to maintain low-spending growth, which is a commitment of my position as Finance Secretary of Western Australia. More importantly, we have made important progress towards this critical goal.
The Treasury recently released fiscal data for the first six months of fiscal year 2017 / 18, according to which spending grew by just 0.3 percent (equivalent to 45 million Australian dollars) compared with the same period in fiscal 2016 / 17. The previous Liberal Party, Barnett government, grew by 13.3% in the first six months of fiscal 2009. Frankly, the last government was too expensive and didn`t spend taxpayers` money where they needed it most.
And as current Treasury Secretary, I am committed to reducing the cost of public services in Western Australia. I won`t be sorry for a modest but robust budget designed to keep spending low, because I know it`s the only way to get the West Australian economy back on track.
Let`s start with the education sector-government announced a number of reform strategies at the end of last year that attracted a lot of attention. We demand that the education sector also contribute to the improvement of the deficit, as the West Australian economy faces all the serious challenges of previous causes.
Public education spending in Western Australia is expected to grow by an average of 2.2 percent a year, according to the 2017 / 18 Mid-term Review. Education Secretary Sue Ellery has made an outstanding contribution to this end and continues to monitor and monitor the continued growth of education spending.
Public education, by contrast, grew at an average annual rate of 4.8% during the previous Liberal government term. Especially in fiscal year 2015 / 16: the cost of education per student in Western Australian public schools was A $17,306, 16% higher than the average across Australia, the highest in Australia.
In such a difficult economic situation, if spending on education per student in Western Australia were equal to the national average, we could save A $ six hundred and fifty million three hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine a year, which would help to improve the fiscal deficit.
At the same time, Western Australia`s government not only has the highest expenditure on public school student education in the country, but also provides the highest subsidy per capita in non-public schools. For this reason, Western Australia spends about A $ one hundred and three million four hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine more annually on non-public schools than the national average, a huge figure.
Instead of giving up the pace of reform, the new McGovern Labour Party, government, will continue to reform public services to make it more efficient. Our government, or any government, cannot finance the infrastructure we need simply by borrowing.
Our government will continue to cut spending and save money to support important economic infrastructure, such as large-scale transport infrastructure projects-the first to be funded by savings in other areas of (METRONET).
We will also make further savings and use the limited funds where they are most needed. As we all know, Western Australia`s share of the GSP (GST) from the federal government is the smallest in all Australian states and is less than half the amount we hand in.
We hope that the federal government will continue to fund 80 percent of Western Australia`s improved infrastructure by continuing its previous infrastructure investment program.
Here, the people of Western Australia need to realize: the road ahead is difficult, we still have a lot of work to do. Megoven Labour Party government will have the confidence and determination to continue to adhere to the Labour Party`s consistent values of equity and equality, keep the promise, let the West Australian economy back on track, re-emergence of brilliance!
