Page 91 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 15 February 2011
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outside the control of the ACT government, in particular the role of the commonwealth government in setting the payment levels for pensions and allowances as well as taxation rates.
We will as a government continue to work hard to deliver our mandate to the people of the ACT. We worked hard through the global financial crisis to maintain jobs in the ACT. I think 6,000 new jobs in the last year were created. I know Mr Smyth does not like to give the ACT government any credit, but 6,000 jobs were created, our participation rate is increasing and there is a very significant increase in women in employment. Part of that has to be down to the work that the ACT government did with the community to steer us through the global financial crisis.
We listened to what people were saying around what they wanted, and we are delivering on the infrastructure and initiatives in the ACT that focus on sustainability. Now, some of these measures are not without cost, but we do not shy away from that where the benefits to the future of our city and future generations who choose to live here will be so important.
Prices for electricity in the ACT are not set by this government; they are set by the ICRC, and according to their data, the annual average electricity bill in Queanbeyan will be $2,386 per year compared to $1,512 in the ACT, a difference of 58 per cent. This $874 price differential in favour of ACT residents is not only substantial, it is
significant. Irrespective of the rate of increase in electricity prices in the ACT, ACT electricity customers are significantly better off than consumers in New South Wales.
Price increases for consumers within the national energy market, including the ACT, have predominantly been due to both short and long-term supply constraints associated with earlier drought, network upgrades and requirements for increased generation capacity. Canberra households and businesses have fared better than other capital cities along the east coast of Australia, with only a 43 per cent increase in Canberra compared to a 64 per cent increase for Sydney over the last five years.
I notice Mr Hanson talked about childcare. The cost of childcare for families is tough; I accept that. I have had both my children in childcare over the last three years, and it is a significant part of your pay that goes into that. I also note, however, that we are desperately hoping that the 2,000 families who are not claiming childcare benefit or childcare rebate in the ACT who are eligible for it according to the data that has been released by the commonwealth government do take up the opportunity to have that rebate paid to them. It is an entitlement, and there are significant numbers of people across the country that are not accessing that entitlement.
The price of childcare has significantly decreased because of that rebate. That is there to help families deal with those very significant costs, but there are 2,000 families in the ACT who are not accessing that. Based on that rebate and the childcare benefit, when you compare childcare costs to the December quarter 2005, the cost of childcare, when rebated, has fallen by 29 per cent in the ACT. I think that is a clear example where governments have intervened—in this case, the commonwealth government—in recognition of the price of childcare and the hardship that families experience to meet some of those cost pressures.
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