Page 1171 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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the Howard budget has failed to fund a range of services which have been identified as important to the ACT and the nation.
In particular, I had already identified as a priority the restoration of the commonwealth dental program. I think we all recall that on entering office 10 years ago the coalition simply wiped away $100 million from the dental health programs of this country. While the states and territories have attempted to compensate the community for this loss, public dental waiting lists nationally have blown out shamefully. The budget announcement that Medicare funding will provide $378 million over four years for patients whose dental health is impacting on a chronic medical condition hardly compares with the value of the program with funding of $100 million in 1996 dollars.
Another opportunity missed by the commonwealth lies in early childhood education. While all levels of existing educational sectors received increased funds from the budget, the vital role of early literacy and numeracy training before reaching school age has been ignored. This is a point that has been picked up, thankfully, by our federal colleagues in the ALP.
Even since the announcements of the commonwealth budget, a range of industry groups have called for developments to be provided in planning for the Griffin legacy. In particular, the Australian Hotels Association has expressed its continuing disappointment that the budget contained no provisions for a new national convention centre, provisionally sited in West Basin. Of course those of us who have been here long enough remember all too well the damage that was done to the ACT economy and community when the Liberal Party first came to power 10 years ago, with the loss of up to 10,000 public sector jobs crippling the economy and pulling the rug out from under the housing market, most particularly within the ACT.
It is my job as Chief Minister and as Treasurer to ensure that the territory’s finances are placed on a sustainable basis. In many respects, this job is complicated by the predominance of the federal government in the nation’s capital. As I have said, we are more than happy to accept the benefits of commonwealth investment and employment but we must also remain wary of being too dependent on the proclivities of a substantial part of our economy that we cannot influence.
Service provision and economic management are the core responsibilities of governments, but they are complementary roles. A strong economy means higher living standards and better overall wellbeing, more jobs and greater job security. It means more people can buy homes and strive to reach their personal potential. A strong economy and sound financial management create the conditions for a government to meet its people’s needs.
While the sociodemographic profile in the territory suggests relatively lower service needs, government expenditure on services here within the ACT has remained consistently high, by about 20 to 25 per cent, since self-government. The territory’s revenue-raising effort, on the other hand, has been at around average levels. The ACT, like all other jurisdictions, faces emerging risks and pressures for services. Increasing health costs are one example. The driver of this cost is partly ageing, which will
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