Page 2250 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 June 2013
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contribute to the growth of the communities in my electorate. But before I do, I would like to state that I am proud to be part of this Labor government, which has, and always will, put our community first; a government that has always looked after those most vulnerable in our community, and always will do.
It has been said several times in this Assembly that the global financial crisis and the subsequent European debt crisis have hit global financial markets hard, and the effects are still being felt across the globe. As we are aware, in an environment of this nature governments are faced with very difficult budget decisions. Early last month we saw one such budget handed down by the federal government. Needless to say, federal budgets have an effect on the ACT, and we have always acknowledged this. One of the decisions that governments are faced with is whether to choose to cut to the bone, as those opposite and their federal colleagues have suggested on numerous occasions, or whether to choose to protect jobs, maintain confidence in the economy and protect those most vulnerable.
As the Treasurer has repeatedly said in this place, good governments do not pursue policies which have been shown to fail and which destroy businesses, families and communities. Knee-jerk austerity, which the conservative side of politics is fond of, at a time of challenge only deepens contraction and does not support growth. This Labor government has once again acted to continue protecting economic activity, protecting jobs, and promoting confidence, even in these challenging times.
This Labor government’s vision is to ensure that the ACT remains the happiest, healthiest and most sustainable community in Australia, a high wage community with the lowest unemployment in the country. We want to ensure that Canberra remains a fantastic place to live, with the highest standards of living. This is evident from the latest economic figures, which show that Canberra’s economy continues to be strong, with very low unemployment. These are essential elements for achieving this vision.
We on this side strongly believe that Canberra deserves the best—and, more, that Canberrans deserve a government that can understand their living cost pressures but also understand the economy and what we need to do to ensure that Canberra continues to thrive. I must state clearly here that maintaining a strong economy is not the same thing as maintaining a budget surplus, as those opposite would have you believe. There is always the possibility that they do not quite understand that. Whereas surpluses are a good thing to have at the right time of the economic cycle, during downturns such as we are facing it is important that a government prioritises correctly. By this, I mean support the economy and the disadvantaged in our community while at the same time having a solid plan to bring the budget back to balance.
The 2013-14 budget that the Treasurer delivered yesterday is another example of a responsible and well-prioritised budget by this Labor government. It is a budget that will let us respond to the challenges we are faced with without damaging local confidence, local businesses and local jobs. The budget demonstrates the government’s determination to continue investing in local infrastructure across the ACT, as Ms Berry said, which will place this city in a strong position to tackle future
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