Budget Paper 1994-95 No.6 Northern Territory Economy
Tabled Paper 2156
Tabled Papers for 6th Assembly 1990 - 1994; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
1994-05-12
Tabled by Barry Coulter
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00044
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/292876
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/398240
Public Sector The proportion o f GSP attribu tab le to the public sector has declined to a po int w here the T errito ry public sec to r accounts for a lessor proportion o f GSP than do the public sectors o f the ACT and Tasm ania, and is on par w ith South A ustralia. As can be seen in F igure 15.3, the level o f Territory public sector partic ipa tion in the eco n o m y is d e c re a s in g an d c o n v e rg in g tow ards the national average. This has been a c h ie v e d by k e e p in g p u b lic s e c to r em p lo y m en t leve ls and rea l g o v ern m en t ex p en d itu re in check w hile p ro v id in g an environm ent in w hich the private sector has b e e n a b le to re s p o n d to e m e rg in g opportunities. The progressive increase in the defence force presence in the Territory w ill partia lly offset a continuation o f this trend. Public Sector Outlook In the Territory, the public sector has accounted for a gradually decreasing proportion o f GSP. This process will continue in the future as public sector expenditures are held relatively constant while the private sector continues to expand, thus accounting for an increasing share o f econom ic activity. Increases in public sector expenditure w ill largely reflect rising dem and for G overnm ent provided services due to population grow th and an aging population structure. Som e grow th can also be anticipated in direct Com m onw ealth funding associated w ith an expanding defence force presence in the Territory. The N orthern Territory G overnm ents ability to m aintain and, as the need arises, increase the provision o f services w ill depend on the m aintenance o f its financial capacity through C om m onw ealth/Territory financial arrangem ents. Figure 15.3 Public Sector as % of GDP % Source: ABS Cat. No. 5242.0 83