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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (14 February) . . Page.. 155 ..
MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):
The objectives of the service are-
(a) to provide health and community care services for residents of the Territory that promote, protect and maintain public health;
(b) to maintain quality standards of health and community care services;
(c) to take all measures to ensure the efficient and economic operation of its resources; and
(d) to effectively coordinate the provision of health and community care services.
Section 6 describes the functions of the service as follows: "to promote, protect and maintain the health of the residents of the territory".
I can point, I am sure, to occasions when, I am sure inadvertently, the Australian Capital Territory Health and Community Care Service has not, in fact, promoted, protected and maintained the health of a resident or a number of residents of the territory. Saying that though does not detract in any way from the importance of having objectives in that legislation. If it is important to state in an act governing the territory's health services what the objectives and the principles under which the health services should be operating are, how much more important is it that there be principles governing one of the most significant and important functions which is performed by the territory as a body politic, the preparation and tabling of a budget?
Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, you do not need my contribution to this debate to realise that budgets have been matters of great controversy and great debate, not just in their specifics but in their direction, ever since Adam was a boy. I do not think we are going to eliminate that by passing Mr Osborne's bill today. I have read through the provisions of clause 4 of Mr Osborne's bill and I do not think I can object to the broad direction which-
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hird): Order! The Chief Minister has the call. Mr Osborne, you will come to order.
MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. The details provided in clause 4 are, broadly speaking, supportable and appropriate. I do not know which of these I would seriously say is inappropriate, although, as members will see, I have circulated some amendments which I think clarify and improve the direction of the bill and which I think should be supported. Mr Quinlan has circulated amendments as well, but the objective here is appropriate. I think it is important that there be some affirmation on the part of the Assembly of what this bill is attempting to do.
The government takes the view that there does need to be a better context for debate about budgets on a year to year basis. The most important objective which this government has set for itself has been the elimination of the operating loss for the territory by the 2004-05 budget. As it happens, we have achieved it earlier than that, but that has been a very important objective. That is an objective we set ourselves not just because we thought it would be a fun thing to do, to make the many difficult decisions that would turn the territory's fiscus from a loss-making one to a surplus-making one, but because we felt it was important as a principle of budget objective, of management of the territory's position.
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