Michael Gunner pledges to act quickly to address economic woes
CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner used his first speech in the 14th Legislative Assembly yesterday to reaffirm his commitment to address the NT’s economic woes
Northern Territory
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CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner used his first speech in the 14th Legislative Assembly yesterday to reaffirm his commitment to move quickly to address the NT’s economic woes.
Mr Gunner, who is also now serving as Treasurer, said he has been focusing all his efforts on spearheading the economic recovery as he prepares to release the upcoming budget.
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“It is my job to ensure that my government now moves fast, with one clear and cohesive ambition: to get the Territory working, and working hard, in new ways, in new industries that maximise our brilliant location within Asia,” he told parliament.
“We have the land, we have the resources, we have the place – and we have the people.
“2020 to 2024 is about bringing it all together.”
Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the CLP intended to push the government this week to bring forward legislation to help get the economy back on track.
The Chief Minister said his government was working with a new sense of urgency.
“Mario Andretti, the great American race-car driver, said it best. ‘If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.’ I want to push this vehicle to its limits,” he said.
“In order to do that, my team has been tasked to get moving, fast, to make business easier but to also continue our social policy reforms that can make life better for everyone.”
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It comes after the Department of the Chief Minister’s Annual Report 2019-2020, tabled in parliament yesterday, showed the agency incurred $109.8 million in total expenses in 2019-20.
This is an increase of $18.6 million on the previous year and $0.7 million higher than the final budget of $109.1 million.
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