Page 3076 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 10 September 1991
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we cannot carry an enormous borrowing program because with an enormous borrowing program there comes the point at which you have to tax the people. The money does not actually grow on trees. A lot of people think it does, but it does not. The money has to come from somewhere.
The point that Ms Follett will make in the budget next week will prove that the capital works that will be put into progress are much needed and will not involve an enormous borrowing program for things that at the moment this city can do without. The people of Canberra are sick of seeing roads being dug up, roads that they feel are perfectly good; they are sick of seeing line marking all over the place. Whereas once they used to be able to park their car by their house, now they cannot because there are white marks everywhere. They want to know why this money is being wasted. We are the taxpayers, we are the voters, and every time we turn round we see more roads being dug up, more white lines being spread around where they are not needed, and buildings that we really can do without at a time when we are asking people to tighten their belts because the Federal Government has treated us rather severely in this budget.
We do not want to end up like Victoria, which has a serious problem but which has a very good Premier who may be able to get them out of it. That is the way they seem to be going. We do not want to end up like New South Wales, which has a Premier who lied to the people during the election. We now find that they are closing hospitals left, right and centre, and closing schools left, right and centre, because they cannot balance the books. We do not intend to put the ACT into this position.
As I said earlier, we have in the Chief Minister a Treasurer who understands this problem and has no intention of willy-nilly rushing out and borrowing large amounts of money to build unnecessary buildings at this time. Further on, down the track, that may be part of the public works program. At the moment it is not possible to do it. As I say, you cannot ask people to take a cut or to tighten their belts and then go out and spend money unnecessarily at this particular time.
I stand by what I said about the new public works program in my dissenting report. As a responsible member of this Assembly I feel that I have to give a responsible view. I have to face up to the people outside who are saying, "Why are you digging up another road? Why are you putting all these white marks around? How much is it costing?". They are the people who are to be charged extra for all these things that they now have to pay for in order to balance the budget.
I am sorry, Mr Speaker; I do not think Mr Kaine has got it right. I think he does have a bankcard mentality. I think it is borrow now and pay later. I suggest that he use the scissors on all his bankcards because this is how people get into trouble, and we all know it.
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