Page 1144 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 August 1989
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appropriate to review not only the Commonwealth budget's impact but also the current state of the consultation process and comment to date.
Initial reaction to the budget was positive, and the debate in the Assembly was restrained. The budget consultation process has started smoothly, and I welcome the participation of Mr Kaine, Mr Collaery and Mr Duby. However, just recently there has been some general discussion about the Government's budget strategy. Some comments have been directed at whether the proposed cuts are sufficient, and others have suggested that the cuts are too large. Mr Speaker, such comments demand a response.
The Leader of the Opposition has criticised the Government's intention to cut the overfunding identified by the Commonwealth Grants Commission by only $10m.
I would suggest that the task of setting a budget strategy after only a few weeks in office was undertaken in a responsible way by the Government. It would be a very foolish government indeed that would advocate major changes in direction, of the magnitude he suggests, within such a short time frame. As an example, he suggests bigger cuts in the health budget. Mr Speaker, I am not going to take to vital services, like the health service, with an axe.
When we came to office, a steering committee was considering Dr Kearney's advice from late last year to establish a principal hospital in Canberra. Mr Kaine and all other members of this Assembly have been given summary material on the various options available. We are talking about capital expenditure of at least $150m over the next few years. As an offset there will be potentially large savings - up to $8.5m per annum - in recurrent expenditure, to be achieved over the longer term.
Such decisions must be taken with proper analysis. The whole fabric of Canberra's health services faces great change. The steering committee has just reported, and my colleague the Minister for Community Services and Health will be tabling the report this week. Also I will make a statement to the Assembly once the Government has considered that committee's report.
On the other hand, Mr Speaker, there have been some genuine concerns raised in the budget consultative process about the differential effects of the recent land revaluations on the amount of rates that will be paid by certain ratepayers. This is especially so in the commercial sector, in which some revaluations have risen by as much as 250 per cent. Mr Speaker, I must point out that the Government had no control over the amount of these increases. The land valuations were independently reassessed in accordance with the triennial statutory requirement. Where residential ratepayers experience genuine hardship in meeting their rates obligations, they may apply for consideration under one of the available assistance schemes. I have asked the
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