Page 2173 - Week 07 - Thursday, 6 June 1991
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As I said, Canberra has always had her scoffers. In the end, such denigration serves only to divert the attention of the unwilling away from the real and pressing issues that must be confronted and overcome if we are to guide our city successfully into the future. Mr Speaker, I beg your indulgence, and that of the Assembly, to reiterate a series of facts which I believe are integral to any debate about the state of the Australian Capital Territory in the 1990s.
Canberra is the most rapidly growing city in Australia, currently with a population approaching 300,000 people. Not too far into the next century our population will have expanded to at least 400,000. For me, these are the most important statistics in any examination of the state of the ACT, for they represent the people - for whom and about whom all decisions of government are or should be made. The infrastructure and the services needed to cater for our 300,000 fellow Canberrans are incredibly complex. Only two years on from the start of self-government, we are coming to grips with the management of that infrastructure and those services - fortunately, with a professional and competent Government Service, the members of which have willingly and enthusiastically taken up the challenge.
The job would be difficult enough in the best of circumstances merely because of the unique local problems involved. But, of course, we live in a country which is suffering under the worst economic recession in a generation. By far the most pressing problem facing government in the Territory in the 1990s is the requirement, imposed by the Commonwealth, to cut back on overservicing to bring us more into line with the States. In short, we have been told - every one of us has been told - that we must get off the back of the Australian taxpayer.
If ever there was a time for economic responsibility and stability in the ACT, this is surely it. In these terms, my budgetary strategy has, I believe, been fair and equitable. We are promoting the development of the all-important private sector because this is where Canberra's economic future lies. We are making better use of the Territory's existing capital base. In the meantime we are minimising government borrowings and we aim to bring in balanced recurrent budgets. How many governments around Australia have been able to manage that in recent times? Precious few, as we all know.
But there is more to government, of course, than financial management, crucial though it is. I am sure that my colleagues, during the course of this debate, will mention the many initiatives and achievements in their respective portfolio areas. For my part, it is on the public record that we have made major advances in social policy and environmental policy. The planning and land management package - which Ms Follett disparages - which we have been developing over the past year will be the best in
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