Mr GREG WARREN: My question is addressed to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, representing the Treasurer. Will the Minister update the House on the latest assessment of the State's credit rating and what it says about the Government's management of the economy?
Mr PAUL SCULLY (Wollongong—Minister for Planning and Public Spaces) (11:56): As reluctant as I am to interrupt the member for Campbelltown during his personal question and answer session, I thank him for what is probably the most pertinent question that will be asked in this Chamber not just today but this week. This is where the test comes to the fore on both sides of the Chamber: sound economic management on this side, no idea on the opposite side. Let me outline why. As the Treasurer announced yesterday, three independent ratings agencies have delivered positive assessments of New South Wales' finances.
The work of the Minns Government to deliver the largest budget turnaround in the history of New South Wales is being recognised. Fitch has reaffirmed our triple-A rating, Moody's has reaffirmed our triple-A rating with a stable outlook and S&P has reaffirmed our double-A plus rating and improved its outlook to stable. All members of the House should welcome that news, but I suspect members opposite do not, because it proves exactly what we have been saying for the past 3½ years and will continue to say: Only the Minns Government and NSW Labor are the best economic managers this State has and will ever have.
The conservative Queensland Government is looking to us because that State's rating has been downgraded. Why do the credit assessments matter? It is because delivering more homes and jobs requires confidence, investment and infrastructure. We want businesses to invest, builders to build and families to have greater choice about where they live and where they work. Responsible financial management gives government a stronger foundation to support growth. Moody's specifically acknowledged the Government's work to stabilise debt and reduce our reliance on new borrowing to fund infrastructure. It acknowledged the task of improving the budget while also meeting substantial demands for infrastructure and services. That is directly relevant to planning for the growth of our State.
As the Deputy Premier outlined earlier, we were handed the largest debt ever handed from one government to another in the history of the State. It was set to reach more than $187 billion. The year before we were elected to office, New South Wales ran a budget deficit of $15.3 billion—the biggest deficit in the history of the State. Let us just let that sink in for a minute. The biggest budget deficit in New South Wales history was run up by those on the other side of the Chamber. That is their story: big debt, big deficit, big excuses but poor economic management. That is the economic record of the Liberals and Nationals. [Extension of time]
