Page 1159 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 3 April 1990
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proposals, which in many ways amounted to an entire budget, for public comment and consultation prior to the formal budget. I will not say that this process was flawless. I will say that it was a first step towards giving the community some real input into decision-making.
There was one major difficulty in our budget process last year - the timing of our Government coming to office prevented a consultative process prior to the release of the initial budget statement. Mr Kaine faced no such difficulty; he had ample time to consult, yet he chose not to do so.
The ACT budget directly affects the lives of the people of Canberra. It affects them at least as much as the Federal budget. It determines the type of education our children receive, the type of public health system we have, and the whole range of municipal services provided. People have a right to have a direct say in decisions which affect them directly - not once every three years at elections, but continually while the decisions are being taken.
The Government needs to discuss with the users and providers of public services their needs and their expectations. This type of community involvement is not only the right way to go, it is the only way to go. Particularly when a government wants to make massive changes, as this one does, effective consultation is the only way to achieve community acceptance of decisions which fundamentally affect them. Government by edict is no longer acceptable to the people.
Let us take a look at the Chief Minister's statement, this so-called budget strategy. I submit that there is no strategy. We have been given some indications of what is in store. We know that health expenditure will be cut by the Alliance Government. We know that education expenditure will be cut. We know that TAFE expenditure will be cut. We know that municipal expenditures will be cut. We know that the Alliance Government will introduce across the board cuts. That is hardly news.
Mr Speaker, the people of Canberra did not require a budget strategy statement to know that the Alliance Government was going to attack the public sector. Since its cynical power grab in December last year, it has talked of little else. What many of us expected in the Chief Minister's budget statement was at least a little bit of detail, some idea of precisely what was in store. What we have seen instead is a classic example of political kite flying.
The Chief Minister has indicated that there will be expenditure cuts between $27m and $37m, but the details of how this is to be achieved are scant. The Chief Minister spoke of savings through hospital restructuring, but already the shadow health Minister has shown that the Government's figures are rubbery at best, if not intentionally misleading. The people of Canberra are
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