Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT’s economic management has been given another strong endorsement: international credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) retained the ACT Government’s highest possible credit rating of ‘AAA/A-1+’ Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Negative.

The S&P update stated that they view the ACT’s financial management positively.

The report states that “Our ratings on ACT reflect its excellent financial management; very high-income economy, which is closely linked to the stable public sector; and exceptional liquidity.”

According to S&P, “the ACT’s economic fundamentals remain very strong. The territory has a very high-income economy. The territory historically has Australia’s most resilient labour market, with unemployment tracking 1–2 percentage points lower than the national average in the past half decade. Economic growth prospects are solid. We view ACT’s financial management positively. The territory has a professional and independent public service, and prudent debt management. ACT is midway through a 20-year program to reform its tax system. This includes phasing out narrowly based transaction taxes, such as conveyancing duties, in favour of a broad-based land tax. These reforms may help to mitigate budgetary volatility. ACT is less reliant than its domestic peers on conveyancing duties, which tend to be sensitive to property market volumes and prices. This is because of its tax reform program and because, unlike the Australian states, ACT also functions like a municipal government and levies general property rates. The territory also has a credible plan to eliminate its unfunded superannuation liability over time through ongoing appropriations and investment earnings in its superannuation provision account.”

Mr Barr said: “During the worst of the pandemic, we did exactly what we set out to do – protect local jobs and keep our city growing. And now, our job is to build Canberra’s future.

“Our infrastructure pipeline will create local jobs, it will deliver the infrastructure our growing city needs. It includes the expansion of the Canberra Hospital, the extension of light rail, and the redevelopment of Canberra Theatre. The Government has $490 million in road upgrades in Canberra’s south alone, including the construction of the Molonglo River Bridge.  Meanwhile, we are also building the infrastructure that will ensure Canberra remains one of the most liveable cities in the world –great local schools, new health facilities in our suburbs and community sports infrastructure.

“With more people choosing to call Canberra home, the ACT Government will also look to increase our housing supply. The Government is planning for an increase of around 30,000 dwellings in the ACT over the next five years, increasing the total housing supply in Canberra from around 185,000 dwellings to around 215,000 dwellings.”