Page 1682 - Week 08 - Thursday, 28 September 1989
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Rotating rosters will create more problems for mothers with young families, and child-care will certainly be more expensive for these families. The proposed cuts will mean that Royal Canberra Hospital will have to make about 26 positions redundant - again, more women out of work.
Although concessions were made to the areas of health and education, the bulk of cuts remain unchanged and largely affect women. Budget paper No. 9 looks pretty good. It is nice and thick and well laid out. There are actually only five items in here that are new incentives. The rest of them are issues that have previously had funding.
There are about seven pages throughout the paper and about seven at the end which are just blank pages - a total of 14 pages. What are they there for? Are they there for us to use our imagination about all the programs that just have not been funded?
MR BERRY (Minister for Community Services and Health) (5.16): Mr Speaker, I rise to outline the effects of the budget on community services and health in the ACT. I intend to touch on those aspects of the budget which, of course, will put to rest some of the complaints which have been made about the budget here today by people who have largely argued for more savings and more expenditure.
Mr Stevenson: Not I.
MR BERRY: I was not counting you, Dennis. But I must say, Mr Speaker, that I found the opening remarks of the Leader of the Opposition most disturbing, particularly in relation to some of the reports that have been made about the budget process. Of course I, like Ellnor Grassby, believe that the budget process was an entirely successful process, and I think the Government has created a process which will be welcomed in future years by the people of the Territory. I think the outright rejection by the non-Labor parties in the Assembly is rather short-sighted.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, we have a very soft speaker. Although he is a big fellow, he does not have much volume, and I cannot hear him. We are hoping that Hansard can. Would you please keep the noise level down, and could you please speak up, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: It is all right for those short people who are closer to the microphone.
Of course, the consultative process was entirely successful, and I think that is reflected in the budget papers. I would like to refer to a Weekend Australian report of 19 August 1989, quoting the Liberal leader, Mr Trevor Kaine. It says:
He also believes that the ACT Government must move in the direction of other States and try to reduce government services and costs.
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