Page 1326 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
By comparison, all states’ taxation grew at an average of 5.8 per cent. I should point out that the commonwealth’s own taxation take has increased at an average of 6.6 per cent per annum, higher than the states and much higher than the ACT’s.
In summary, the government’s record on financial management is a sound one. We have consistently delivered surpluses. We have properly funded programs and services that the previous government left unfunded: mental health, hospital beds, child protection—all of those areas. The government has made efficiency savings and reinvested these in priority areas. Taxpayers are getting the benefits of the sound financial management of this administration.
MRS BURKE (Molonglo) (4.29): It is timely for Ms Porter to highlight that she believes the Stanhope government has some form of magic bullet approach to offering the hope that it practises responsible financial management and that it can therefore provide and deliver sustainable and high-class services to Canberrans. I think we need to remember those words, “sustainable” and “high-class”. That is not the feedback I am getting at this stage. I do not know about other members.
How can it be that we are all paying more taxes in the ACT? I was surprised to hear Mr Corbell say that. I do not know who he is listening to. What people are telling me is that they are paying more, yet we are receiving a much lower level of service delivery in many sectors across the community, not the least, of course, being in the area of health.
Today I received a copy of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s latest report on the performance of the nation’s hospitals. We have heard the health minister trying to talk up the state of play in our health system. The minister said that only a few things were highlighted. I point out that very major things were highlighted. We are talking about waiting lists and emergency departments. I do not think there are any more pressing and urgent issues to be faced by this government.
The minister talked about state of play in our health system. Once you cut through the gobbledygook there is not really much substance to what the health minister actually says. She has no answers. We are going around in circles. We have had three health ministers during the term of this government. That indicates that you cannot fix the problem; you will not get to the nub of it. How can you deliver sustainable high-class services to the ACT community when we get reports like the one we have had today, which shows clearly that you are failing the people of Canberra?
What are the primary issues? Waiting times for elective surgery and public hospitals continue to deteriorate. The current expenditure is up overall. Resources and performance are also key issues of concern to the commonwealth government. One of the key areas of the ACT budget is the health sector. It is a very big part of our budget, but it is in the health sector that we find the ACT government continually failing to improve its performance? It is very alarming.
For the Minister for Health to downplay the seriousness of the deficiencies in our health system by saying that ACT public hospitals provide a safe, efficient and high quality service is simplistic at the very least. It also displays a lack of insight into just how poorly we perform in comparison with other states and territories. I would say,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .