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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (15 February) . . Page.. 242 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

There are a number of initiatives announced in the proposals put on the table yesterday which touch on both the alleviation of poverty and a very closely related subject, early intervention into a range of social problems. I have mentioned already the money to be spent on the digital divide. There is also $600,000 over four years for community support for residents of multi-unit developments. We are all aware, because we are all MLAs, of problems associated with multi-unit developments in this town, such as social interactions which are very damaging to the rest of the community. We need to address that. This money is targeted at developing ways of making sure that we do face up to those problems. I am very proud about that measure.

We are providing $2 million over four years towards providing public transport concessions for low income households not currently eligible for concessions, people like apprentices, for example, who do not presently have that kind of access but who have quite low wages. The next ACT budget will provide $2 million in funding over four years to reduce waiting times for dentures and dental restorative treatment. That was a key recommendation of the task force on poverty. You can see why it would inhibit the capacity of a person to take part in the affairs of the community and to live their lives fully if they were experiencing pain because of an unsatisfactory dental position.

We also concentrate on early intervention, as I have said, and will provide $21 million over four years to reduce class sizes in the early years of primary school and $6 million over four years to reduce recidivism. We have spoken a lot in this chamber in the last few years about crime, Mr Speaker. Crime is a big issue as far as this community is concerned. I know you want me to hurry up, Mr Hargreaves-

Mr Hargreaves: No, four minutes is the Speaker's ruling.

MR HUMPHRIES: If you going to interrupt me it is going to be longer than four minutes, Mr Hargreaves. Mr Hargreaves has spoken repeatedly in this place about crime and his leader talks about more police to deal with crime. We announced measures yesterday which will deal with crime at its root cause, such as the reasons for people committing criminal offences in the first place, problems with families, problems with mental illness, problems with alcohol and drugs. That is the real onus that falls on this government to act in that respect.

There will be more places for the methadone program, extra money for drug and alcohol initiatives. There will be $1 million over four years for the community visitors scheme to reinforce the quality of disability services in the territory. There will be $1.5 million over four years to strengthen measures to protect vulnerable children from child abuse, neglect and family breakdown, and an increase in a range of services to assist those who are socially disadvantaged in a range of ways.

Mr Speaker, I think this is a good package. The fact that we have put this on the table for the community and for the Assembly committees to examine is the opportunity for people who think we have got this wrong to tell us how and why. I look forward to the contribution made by members in this place to get to the root of these issues and to help us explore ways of making sure that this community operates in a more effective way than at present.

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