Page 1716 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 4 June 2014
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increase in car costs and a growing awareness of our need to reduce emissions. These improvements will assist in the continuation of more people jumping onto a bus for their day-to-day commutes with amenity and security upgrades.
I would also like to take this moment to congratulate the ACT government on what it is doing to invest in health care, specifically in regard to the important area of mental health and suicide prevention. $2.1 million is going directly to suicide prevention. This is being done through the direct provision of services as well as the promotion of community awareness of suicide prevention. This works directly with the additional $9 million worth of investments for mental health services and $43 million for the secure mental health facility, with a specialised 25-bed facility available to appropriately accommodate those with a severe mental illness throughout their recovery process.
The government has continued to realise that Canberrans are not just numbers or ticks in boxes but individuals with needs and contributing members of their community. This budget is a true Labor budget. It helps to ensure that the people who are most in need have access to facilities and services to assist them with their daily and recreational lives.
In light of the federal budget in May, I offer my support to Dr Bourke’s motion and the budget itself. Without the stimulus that is being provided by the ACT government, the impact of the federal budget would have a much larger range. Might I say that the grave impact on the local community after the federal budget would be similar to the situation we saw in 1996. The ACT government, with this budget and the rest of the work we do, will fight to prevent such an equivocal effect being felt. Once again, I commend Dr Bourke’s motion and the budget.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra) (11.26): The 2014-15 ACT budget sends a signal to our community that the ACT government is investing in Canberra to grow jobs and look after our health and education systems. This is, of course, the bread and butter of any state and territory government, but this year, in the face of the biggest federal cuts in 20 years, these things matter much more than ever. The ACT budget is doing what is necessary to protect Canberra in the short term and to lay the foundations for prosperity into the future. This is, by and large, a progressive budget from a progressive government.
As we all know, Madam Deputy Speaker, Canberra is facing a challenging period because of the commonwealth cuts. We on this side know that this is not the time to cut services, and we are committed to supporting our community through this difficult time. That is why we are continuing to invest in projects like the human services blueprint that helps families access government services, especially when they are doing it tough.
To keep our city working we will be borrowing to invest in major infrastructure projects that will bring benefits to our economy in the long run. These include the UC public hospital, light rail, a new convention centre, city to the lake and new court facilities. These projects are important right across the ACT. For those seeking employment, the jobs created by these projects will offer opportunities in a market weakened by 6,500 federal public service job losses.
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