Page 2174 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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dilemma for the national cultural institutions. I have worked at both Questacon and the National Library and parking is always at a premium in those areas. It affects the visitation to those institutions which, of course, the taxpayers of Australia have paid for. They have paid for those over the years. They pay their taxes to help maintain these institutions and they should at least be able to get a park.
I think it is detrimental for us to have pay parking in the parliamentary triangle. I can remember the department asking me to introduce it back in 1998, 1999 and 2000. I simply said no. I said no because I think it is quite different from the rest of the territory. On one hand, these places are the homes of the national attractions and, on the other, there is a certain lack of amenity for the people that serve there. These questions need to be answered.
I think it will take some days before we know the full impact of this budget on Canberra residents. What is curious for those that listened to the debate before lunch on the half-yearly update, and indeed the minister’s response to the MPI now, is that clearly we are being softened up for something. The question about global impacts on the ACT economy in question time makes me wonder if things are a little bit worse in our budget than the minister is willing to admit.
If I heard him right, I think before lunch he actually admitted conveyancing was down something like $55 million. I will check the Hansard and if I have misrepresented you, minister, I will be happy to correct it. The March update said we were about $30 million down, but now suddenly it is 55. So there is a significant softening. It should come as no surprise that there has been the GFC. Suddenly the minister seems to think the GFC is still here and it is haunting our shadows. If he had actually read his own budget for this year he would know that on page 35 it states:
Weak growth in the international economy would inevitably have a negative impact on the ACT.
If the excuse for this year’s budget failures is going to be that somehow it is the global economy that is at fault, he was totally aware of that when he published this document in June last year. I notice on the same page commonwealth government funding is listed in the summary of major risks. It is quite clear that the current federal Labor government is a risk because of what is happening to the ACT. What we have is a typical Labor budget and it is of concern to the ACT. I think it will take some days before we genuinely know exactly what is going to happen in our territory as a consequence.
Discussion concluded.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Barr) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
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