Page 823 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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The 2020-21 ACT budget provided funding for many of these significant priorities, including the sustainable household scheme, to encourage a shift towards more sustainable household practices, as well as encouraging the shift to zero-emissions vehicles and to strengthen housing and homelessness services. Through the budget the government has also clearly reaffirmed its commitment to delivering key existing projects, including those that were funded in the August 2020 economic and fiscal update.
We are continuing work on the light rail extension, the Canberra Hospital expansion and the new CIT campus in Woden and are further expanding our program of new and expanded public schools to meet growing demand for these services. Our investments are also framed in the context of prudent fiscal and debt management, which is needed, of course, to retain the territory’s recently reaffirmed AAA credit rating. I note that we now stand alone as the only Australian state or territory retaining its AAA credit rating. This does not happen by accident and is something we are very conscious of in our future budgeting and borrowing decisions
The standing committee reports contain collectively 54 recommendations that relate to budget or Appropriation Bill matters. I am sure members will be relieved to hear that I will not be going through each one of them in this speech; the government’s detailed response fulfils this purpose. I advise the Assembly that standing committee recommendations relating to annual report matters will be addressed separately and later in the year pursuant to the four-month time frame as set out by standing order 254B.
In summary, the government has agreed to 25 recommendations, agreed in principle to 12, agreed in part to two, noted 14 and not agreed to just one recommendation. I do not consider there to be anything in the reports of the standing committees that would prevent the passage of the Appropriation Bill and the Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill. I thank the committees again for their detailed scrutiny in the unusual circumstances of the budget, the appropriation bills and annual reports. I commend the government’s response to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Standing orders—suspension
Motion (by Mr Gentleman, by leave) agreed to, with concurrence of an absolute majority:
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the order of the day Assembly Business relating to the Government response to the standing committees’ reports on the Appropriation Bill 2020-2021 and the Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2020-2021 being called on and debated cognately with orders of the day Nos 1 and 2, Executive Business, relating to the Appropriation Bill 2020-2021 and Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2020-2021.
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