Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (16 May) . . Page.. 1697 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

The reason is very simple: Mr Quinlan is planning a deficit of his own. He is all in favour of deficit budgeting. As he has told us, a $1 surplus over the space of the next three years is good enough for Ted Quinlan. Hence there is no taking up with enthusiasm, if at all, of the catchcry of the federal Labor Party that budgets must be in surplus, particularly when the economy is growing so strongly.

A predicted growth rate of 3.75 per cent in 2001-02 and 3.5 per cent in 2002-03 is good news for the national economy, and it should be the basis on which the ACT can plan for reasonably good growth in this territory as well. A national unemployment rate of 6 per cent should spell the capacity for the ACT to retain a low unemployment rate here, hopefully much lower than the national rate. Our present position is 4.2 or 4.3 per cent, and I hope we can retain that for the coming financial year, given the strength of the national employment market.

Mr Quinlan: Will it be our fault if we keep it below the national level?

MR HUMPHRIES: Of course it will. Let us be clear that this federal budget has brought significant benefits to the ACT. It provides $22 million for ACT roads-funding for completion of the Barton Highway duplication, untied local road grants and black spot funding. There is $0.9 million for the High Court of Australia to fund special sittings and the related legal conference to mark the centenary of the High Court's first sitting.

There is $37.2 million for the National Museum of Australia, demonstrating once again that the federal liberal government is the only federal government of recent years that has really been serious about support for this national institution which is so important for Australia. There were years of talking about it by the Keating and Hawke governments but never any delivery. The federal Liberal government is both building and funding this important national institution.

There is $65.4 million over four years to improve the Australian Institute of Sport. Somehow Mr Quinlan finds reasons to look that particular gift horse in the mouth, but the fact is that $65 million over four years is pretty big money in anybody's terms, and we should be seeing that as the positive boost for the local economy which it really is.

There is a boost in financial assistance grants, FAGs, for local government functions-$30.2 million for the ACT, an increase of 3.4 per cent on funding last year. There is $21 million in recognition of Canberra's role as the national capital, including funding for policing, fire protection, local government, national parks and wildlife.

The biggie of them all, with some 12,000 members of the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Defence based here in the ACT, is that more than $1 billion in extra funding to the defence sector will have a major flow-on effect on the ACT economy, particularly with the building of the headquarters Australian theatre in the Canberra region close to Bungendore. That will have a tremendous effect on employment in the ACT and in other economic benefits. Some $18 million will be spent on defence in the ACT alone in 2002-03.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .