Page 4970 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 26 November 1991
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It is important for governments to be not just reactive. We know what the problems are; the community knows what the problems are. They have seen those issues develop over a long period and they know the need. Unfortunately, both governments and bureaucracies seem to wait for a problem to develop before they do something about it. Might I suggest to both Mr Berry and Mr Connolly that they spend a little money now and provide these sorts of facilities, provide locations particularly for young mothers who are caught in these suburban areas in the southern or northern parts of Canberra. If they have access to these facilities and are able to do courses and outreach programs run by the TAFE, for example, the overall cost to the health budget will be reduced because the problems will be sorted out much earlier.
Unfortunately, some of the economic rationalists we have around the place do not seem to be able to accept that and are not able to come to grips with it. I can assure you that ample research is being provided now, which shows that if the problems are solved early you reduce the problems in our schools and you reduce the problems for health systems. It is called preventive medicine; it is called community medicine; it is called community health and the delivery of services. That is what it is all about, and that is what I believe we should be doing, rather than waiting for the problems to manifest themselves. We are seeking to save money now, but it will end up costing us money in the long term.
I wish to comment briefly on the proposal that has been put forward in relation to the introduction of a large number of single units into the middle of a suburb in the southern part of Tuggeranong. The community do not have a problem with the provision of public housing in their area. What they do see as a problem is 16 single-bedroom units being put into a small suburb that has no support facilities whatsoever. One would have thought that we would have learned from the disaster of Melba. A group of 16 single-bedroom units in an area such as that - without facilities, without proper buses, without proper health care centres - is going to create greater problems not only for the community but for the people themselves. That will have an effect on the budget.
The Housing Trust answer to that is, "But we have to provide these houses". I accept that they have to provide those houses; but might I suggest that the Minister reconsider the size and the grouping of these facilities so that they are more in keeping with the neighbourhood and that they go where the facilities are, not where the facilities are not, because that is where they will find problems. In the Tuggeranong Valley I talk to the people in organisations that service that community, mainly voluntary organisations and groups and people such as those who run the neighbourhood houses and the Tuggeranong Community Service. I know that the same problems are occurring in Belconnen. The Government seems to be
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