WA election: Labor outlines campaign costings and debt reduction … – ABC Online

Posted March 09, 2017 20:55:26

WA Labor has released its election costings showing it would return the budget to surplus by the end of the decade, but offered no timeline for paying down the state's spiralling debt.

The costings show a forecast a surplus in 2020 of $205 million, with debt continuing to climb to $39.975 billion over the same period.

The release of Labor's financial plan comes just 24 hours after the Liberals Treasury-assessed costings showed a $12 billion reduction in debt due to the sale of assets including Western Power, and a tiny $24.3 million surplus by 2020.

Shadow treasurer Ben Wyatt said Labor's cost projections showed a Labor Government would chart a clear course towards balancing the budget, and stabilising debt over the long term.

He acknowledged Labor's slender surplus and cost projections remained vulnerable to the volatility of WA's resource-based economy, and conceded there was still no clear timeline on when debt would peak.

"I can't commit to when that will happen," he said.

"But I can commit to the fact that it's only through running operating surplus positions that we're focused on achieving that you will generate over the long term, that plateauing of debt and then its decline."

Labor refused to submit its costings to Treasury, instead selecting two former public servants to analyse its figures.

But Mr Wyatt said the party had nothing to hide and insisted its plan was credible.

"We have given you every decision we've made around spend," he said.

"We've given you every decision we've made around revenue. And we've given you every decision we've made around savings. We have provided more information than any other opposition before us."

According to Labor's figures, it would spend $2.785 billion over the forward estimates on meeting commitments, including $1.03 billion on Metronet, $224.5 million on health, and $261.2 million on education.

Labor claimed those commitments would be more than offset by $2.982 billion in funding from a range of sources including $1.079 billion reallocated from the Perth Freight Link, $529.5 million from land sales and developer contributions, and $631.1 million from Royalties for Regions.

Treasurer Mike Nahan has repeatedly attacked Labor's independent costings, accusing the appointed experts of having links to Labor, and suggesting they were neither independent nor objective.

He renewed his attack shortly after Labor released its costings.

"We can see now why they did not submit to Treasury for costings and we can see why they held it to the last minute," Dr Nahan said.

"Their program is simply not believable."

Labor's plan projects substantial capital and savings measures across the four years of the budget forward estimates.

It expects to save $750 million from a Service Priority Review of Government.

But Dr Nahan said that would require savings of $250 million a year, which could require sacking 7,500 public servants.

"You cannot sack 2,500 people each year for the next three years without redundancies," he said.

Labor expects to raise almost $530 million from land sales and developer contributions.

Dr Nahan said based on the Government's own intense land sales program, that was unrealistic.

"We have had the most vigorous land sales program ever in the history of Western Australia. Over the last four years, we've been able to spend $140 million worth," he said.

But Labor insists its costing are accurate and credible, and that its methodology was robust, despite not being assessed by Treasury.

"I'm not going to listen or cop for one minute this idea that we should have put it to Treasury when Treasury ticked off on (the Liberals) fully funded, fully-costed (campaign) in 2013," Mr Wyatt said.

Dr Nahan said Labor was trying to fool people with costings that lacked detail and substance, and warned voters it would not be able to deliver on its promises if elected on Saturday.

"If you vote Labor, and they put this in plan, you're going to have a massive increase in debt and deficit and either, they are going to cancel a large number of projects or taxes, charges and fees are going to go up," he said.

Topics: government-and-politics, elections, wa

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WA election: Labor outlines campaign costings and debt reduction ... - ABC Online