Page 1471 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2016
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It is poignant to note that those opposite have constantly been talking about the cuts, the cuts, the cuts. What they are talking about is promised funding commitments from their former government under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years that were uncosted and unfunded. They are saying, “Now that we are not getting the money that was hypothesised, there has been a cut.” Rest assured, Madam Deputy Speaker; Senator Seselja, to his credit, has done some great work up on the hill. His press release this morning says:
Education and Health funding for the ACT has also received a significant boost with increases of $66m and $95m respectively over the forward estimates.
Those funds are as good as in the bank. Once the budget passes, the ACT will be in a better position because of additional commonwealth funding in the sectors of health and education. It is not a furphy. It is not a magic pudding. It is something off in the never-never. It is money in the budget to help support health and education in this territory.
I would urge members on the other side to take a look in the mirror, spot the positives in this, speak up our local economy, speak up our country, talk up our country, give those that are trying to do the hard work some credit and get on with the job of making Canberra a better place.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (11.29): I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to Mr Hinder’s motion, particularly about education, but also about the health spending he refers to and issues around concessions. I will also reflect on last night’s budget, as members have done through the course of today’s debate.
They say that budgets are about choices. I think it is quite clear from last night’s budget that we see the choices this federal government is making laid out very clearly for us on the table. It is clear that they are happy to go down the path of unsustainable tax cuts for businesses and higher income earners at the expense of generating the necessary revenue for schools, for dental care, for health care and higher education. That is what we saw out of last night’s budget. It is a prioritisation away from the essential services for our community and towards providing tax cuts to the people who least need them. That, I think, is the indictment of last night’s budget.
There were plenty of other details, but when it comes to the big picture, that is actually what it is about. It was a fascinating budget speech to watch last night. We saw a plan on defence; we saw a plan on small business; but there was not a single mention by the Treasurer of climate change and the need to transition to a clean energy economy. There was no mention of domestic violence, perhaps one of the key issues of public debate in this country at the moment in terms of government needing to respond to a difficult social issue that afflicts our community on a daily basis. These are the sorts of things we saw. We saw that the government is willing to continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into inhumane prison camps in places like Nauru and Manus Island. That is where they are prepared to spend their money. They are the sorts of priorities we saw in last night’s budget.
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