| Money Juggling Hides Real State Deficit of $62 Million |
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The 2008-09 Annual Financial Report highlights Labor’s latest money juggling tricks to make the state budget look healthier than it really is. “While Labor is trumpeting a headline surplus of $251 million, the reality is that this was only achieved by stripping $343 million in dividends from government corporations such as water boards,” said Shadow Finance Minister Gordon Rich Phillips. “In effect, Labor is shuffling money between government departments and government corporations to make the departments (the budget sector) look better.” “When the whole accounts are looked at, not just the departmental results, the State of Victoria was infact in deficit to the turn of $62 million. Of course, this is buried on page 45 of the report!” “Labor’s willingness to strip dividends out of government corporations, particularly water boards, is a worrying trend at a time when the water boards are being asked to fund expensive ‘emergency’ infrastructure like the North-South pipeline and the desalination plant to make up for Labor’s decade of neglect, and Victorian consumers are being asked to pay higher and higher water bills.”
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