Industry groups lament ‘slow road ahead’ for NT economic recovery, following budget release
THE Territory’s leading industry groups say they will be bracing for the worst now that the NT’s $8.2bn debt forecast for the end of this financial year has been revealed.
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THE Territory’s leading industry groups say they will be bracing for the worst now that the NT’s $8.2bn debt forecast for the end of this financial year has been revealed.
NT Chamber of Commerce chief executive Greg Ireland said he expected the Territory’s actual debt would exceed government’s forecasts outlined yesterday.
“Some of the assumptions being made in the government’s forecast of the debt are on the optimistic side so unfortunately I don’t think there’s an upside,” he said.
“(It) looks like there’s only a risk of increasing from this point forward.
“We don’t believe we’ll really know the impact of all this until the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) release the quarterly figures in December and then it’ll be a bit clearer on where we stand.”
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Master Builders NT chief executive David Malone said the debt numbers and GST reduction were “unsurprising”.
“While the rest of Australia entered that (COVID-19) challenge from a good space, the Territory did not,” he said.
“Our economy was already on life-support – it’s why the debt was ballooning.
“The appointment of the Economic Reconstruction Commission is a good step in responding to this challenge but it still looks to us like there is too much complacency on the economic front.”
Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said he welcomed news that the government would be extending popular voucher schemes.
“Many of our businesses are continuing to face a downturn and with uncertainty of when the COVID pandemic will be behind us we still face a slow road ahead,” he said.
Real Estate Institute of the NT chief executive Quentin Kilian said the vouchers would only serve as a short-term solution.
“It’s great they’re bringing back these vouchers but it’s a bandaid fix,” he said.
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“We need some long-term structural solutions instead of just simply patching up the leaks on this sinking boat we’re in.
“The government needs to focus again on some sustainable job-creating projects to address our population problems because that Boundless Possible program didn’t do much.”
Originally published as Industry groups lament ‘slow road ahead’ for NT economic recovery, following budget release