Page 2182 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
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When we examine this budget we find that it places the finances of the territory on the path to a sustainable future. As I said, it details revenue measures that enable the government to continue its delivery of excellent services that our community in the ACT have grown to expect. The expenditure measures and the greater efficiencies contained in it will achieve for the government the resources it will need. I believe that through this budget we will be able to address the greatest priorities the territory has and provide the services to those in greatest need. As the Chief Minister has often said in this place, this should be the government’s ultimate goal.
As a person who entered this Assembly very much believing in the vision of a government that has significant social and economic principles, I am pleased that this budget does not ask us to relinquish these important social and economic principles that are so well laid out in the government’s vision for the city, the Canberra plan. Instead, it sets us firmly on the path to a sustainable territory while incorporating the important vision and values of the Canberra plan.
The budget papers contain much detail about many initiatives. As I said and as all of us expected, members of the committee focused their attention on the Towards 2020 proposal. There is a commitment to renew our government education system through the significant undertaking to allocate $90 million to refurbish our education facilities, $20 million to upgrade school ICT resources and a commitment to embark on a consultation process with school communities regarding the 2020 plan. Another area of great interest was the introduction of a shared services centre, and members of the committee believe it will be interesting to review its operations after it has been in action for 12 months.
Members were pleased to see the government’s ongoing commitment to health. However, the government also recognises the need to bring down the overall costs of the ACT health system in future years while maintaining and building on the excellent level of care and service provided. Members were also pleased to see the commitment to additional police numbers and the soon to be initiated “police suburban ownership program”, which will see a more visible police presence in our suburbs.
Members will be aware that the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People is undertaking an inquiry into skill shortages in the ACT, so the establishment of a skills commission is good news indeed. The committee is interested in obtaining more detail about the commission and how it will work. However, I am pleased that this commission will assist the government in tackling this very real challenge, which of course is an issue that many jurisdictions face.
As I said, the select committee was keen to examine the budget in great detail. Some members of the committee and non-members posted a large number of questions on notice. Although the bulk of these were answered, some were unable to be answered within the time frame simply because of their great volume. Mr Deputy Speaker, I think you would have noticed the big stack of papers that we had before us. These were the questions on notice and answers. I should inform everybody that because of the large volume of questions on notice and the fact that some members posted questions not directly related to this budget, ministers concentrated their efforts on answering questions that directly related to the budget.
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