The Canberra Liberals have called on ACT Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith to explain what they term her “extraordinary and grossly inaccurate” claim, made on ABC radio yesterday, that the Government has improved the fiscal bottom line by a half-billion dollars, “despite official figures showing the Territory’s financial position is in a tailspin”.
Shadow Treasurer Ed Cocks said: “Ms Stephen-Smith’s attempt to manufacture a ‘win’ out of a deteriorating budget is a slap in the face to Canberrans dealing with the impact of Labor’s mismanagement.
“This seems like a desperate attempt to spin an abysmal failure into an achievement. Labor has seen a threat to its hold on power, and now it is trying to spin its way out of trouble.
“Despite their promises of surpluses that never materialise, Labor has spent well over a decade sending the ACT backwards with year after year of deficits. The Finance Minister’s claims of a miracle turnaround are just not credible.”
Labor’s 2024-25 Budget update estimated a deficit of $117.1 million for 2025‑26 on their preferred measure, Mr Cocks said; that deficit increased to $425 million in the 2025–26 Budget, and the UPF measure predicts an actual deficit of $682 million.
The Government’s official figures in October showed the ACT’s total debt passed $14.9 billion last year; the Territory’s net financial worth declined to -$16.8 billion; and interest expenses may reach $1 billion per year — equivalent to more than 25 per cent of ACT own source taxation, Mr Cocks said.
Mr Cocks said the ACT Auditor-General’s recent report — “which highlighted the Government’s structural fiscal imbalance, skyrocketing interest costs, and track record of predicting surpluses that never materialise” — validated the Opposition’s concerns.
“Labor has had sole control of the Treasury portfolio for 24 years, and things just keep getting worse,” Mr Cocks said.
“To claim a ‘half-billion-dollar improvement’ when this year’s deficit has tripled, takes some extreme spin. Meanwhile a raft of Labor election promises are still unfunded; credit agencies and financial commentators are warning of the risk of further credit rating downgrades; and Canberrans are being left with multi-generational debt.
“The Finance Minister is responsible for keeping spending under control and providing the public with an honest account of the Territory’s finances. Claiming an improvement when the ACT’s finances are clearly going backwards risks further undermining public trust. She must explain herself to the Legislative Assembly, and the community.”
ACT Government response
An ACT Government spokesperson said Mr Cocks had again shown a lack of understanding of public finances, arguing it was “impossible” to claim the budget was deteriorating.
The spokesperson said the Budget Review to be released next week would show the government’s bottom line had improved by around $500–600 million on the previous year, as the Finance Minister forecast.
While the budget remains in deficit, they said the government is making practical savings without deep cuts to public services, and remains on track to return to surplus over the forward estimates, consistent with last year’s budget forecasts.
The review, they said, would present a “sensible, stable” budget with a limited number of new measures responding to changing demands on government.
The spokesperson said Mr Cocks incorrectly relied on the unfunded public sector superannuation liability rather than the headline net operating balance, which they argued would ignore financial gains in the superannuation provision account.
They also said net debt for 2025–26 was forecast at about $11 billion, not $14.9 billion, and criticised Mr Cocks for conflating net debt with net liabilities, which they described as “entirely different” accounting measures.
The spokesperson added that the ACT’s net worth stood at $19.5 billion, not –$16.8 billion, and said Mr Cocks needed to explain how he had miscalculated the figure by $36 billion.
