Page 3243 - Week 11 - Thursday, 13 September 1990
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This glib approach to expenditure reductions is continued in the Treasurer's speech when he discusses general administrative savings of 4 per cent. One is simply left asking: how will these cuts be achieved? It is as if this Government does not believe that administration has anything to do with service delivery. It is up to the Government to detail how these cuts will be implemented and prove that they will not affect services. We do not accept that this is possible. Across the whole spectrum of expenditure cuts, this Government is keeping the people of Canberra in the dark. I must say that I am absolutely appalled at this approach to government. What is so terrible about the expenditure reduction you will be implementing that you are afraid to tell the community?
Mr Speaker, another dubious area of this budget is the abolition of the Community Development Fund. One advantage of the fund is that it guarantees the availability of money for community projects and for the support of important community service and non-government organisations. The decision to abolish the fund must be a major concern for many groups in the community. The Government has made no promise about funding beyond the next two years. Of course, the Alliance will not be in government for that long; so its promises are merely academic, and in any case, there is hardly anyone left in this town who would be prepared to believe any promise that its members made.
The lack of information in the budget papers about the CDF decision is a disgrace. The Treasurer has said nothing about what will happen to the balance of the fund. Budget paper No. 4 shows that the closing balance of the fund will be some $15m. Elsewhere in the same document the consolidated fund financing transactions include $5m from the CDF. The question must be asked, Treasurer: what are you doing with the rest of the money? Mr Berry asked you that question as you delivered the paper and, as usual, you did not answer.
Mr Speaker, I would like to make a few comments on the Government's so-called new policy proposals. On those that actually deal with the delivery of new services to the people of Canberra rather than the implementation of restructuring proposals or new administrative arrangements, you will not find many objections from the Labor Party. Most of them, after all, were proposals which were included in our budget last year and which this lazy Government has not got around to implementing.
I welcome the Government's decision again to allocate funds for the establishment of an ACT human rights office. Hopefully this year it will get around to actually spending that money. I think we can be more confident that this will be achieved now that the Labor Party has done the Government's job and actually drafted and introduced some human rights legislation. The inability of Mr Collaery to produce this legislation has to be counted high amongst his many failings as a Minister.
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