Page 1726 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Let us go to some of the clear statements that this budget has delivered. This budget shows a government that is investing in Canberra, investing in our economy, investing in our people and investing in jobs. The 2014 budget invests almost $5 billion in the Canberra community, with record allocations to priority areas of health and education, as well as a four-year $2.5 billion infrastructure program designed to create jobs and to boost the economy. The budget has been framed by substantial commonwealth cuts, and the ACT government has had to respond to the significant impacts on our economy and on our own finances.
We have made the choice not to compound the pain already being felt by Canberrans after the commonwealth’s cuts, and the ACT government have not sacrificed the essential services for the sake of the budget bottom line. We have made the choice to invest in front-line services and to deliver transformational infrastructure to create jobs and economic activity.
If I were to look at some of the media releases coming through just on this, the Canberra Business Council has described the ACT budget as striking the right balance. The Canberra Business Council said that business gets a boost in this budget. The Property Council of Australia described it as a budget for the times. The Insurance Council of Australia said that the insurers are pleased with the ACT tax reform commitment. Medicare Local ACT said that the ACT budget was a prudent, community-building budget. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said that the nurses welcome the ACT budget. The Heart Foundation ACT said that the ACT government is tackling the big health issues. The Youth Coalition describes this budget as intending to soften the federal budget blows for young people.
I will go now to Mr Rattenbury. He drew attention to some of the aspects around our most vulnerable in the community, and I would like to also add some words to that. This budget contains funding for us to continue to support the ongoing provision of sexual assault support and counselling and crisis support and court support for victims of domestic violence. That is a critical and a needed facility and a needed service and is well valued by many women in the ACT.
The budget also commits more than $9 million for housing and homelessness. This is through $5.8 million to build public housing for around 20 older tenants, allowing them to downsize into housing that is more suitable for their current housing needs and freeing up the larger homes for other families. This work will be delivered over four years. It builds on work that was undertaken when I had the pleasure of being housing minister and having that portfolio and it was absolutely the right policy. It allowed the right property for older folk, environmentally designed, good energy efficiency and it released, quite rightly, larger properties so that families could get on with their lives.
I remember talking with an older Canberran, a woman who had raised her entire family and a number of her grandchildren in what she considered a family home. She recognised the importance for her to move into a more suitably built property and also be able to hand over her property so that another family can grow and have the memories, the loving memories, of a family in a home suitable to grow a family.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video