Page 672 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 May 1992
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Let me reiterate. These are important issues. You will see from the front page of yesterday's Chronicle what is happening to HACC services in the ACT. Aged people and people with disabilities are being left out in the cold because of inadequacies in funding HACC and because of the present Government's refusal to match funding. Once again, I would appreciate it if the Minister could return to these points, if and when he summarises this debate, which I am sure he will do. He should have addressed these matters in the first place, rather than giving the statement he did without any information and just with some platitudes. Furthermore, as I have been arguing, having the Commonwealth assume aged care services is something that we really do need more information about. Mr Berry should give us that information. What position do we in the ACT really hold on this? What financial burden or financial boon would it be to the ACT? We do not know. His statement did not tell us.
Perhaps the Minister could provide a little bit more detail, not treat us on this side of the house as idiots and not needing any information. I believe that it is important that, when any Minister goes to conferences of this sort and reports to the Assembly, those statements actually have some fact and some information.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (4.24): I was tempted to jump into this debate because of Mrs Carnell's comments about HACC. She quoted about half of a story in this week's Chronicle, not the full extent of the story. It is true that there is pressure on HACC funds in the ACT and it is true that the ACT Government was unable to fully provide growth funds. She seemed to use that as a criticism of us. It comes back to this old point: These Liberals want us always in the abstract to be spending less money, but in every instance that comes before the Assembly their answer is, "Well, spend more money". It is this extraordinary trick where you can save in the abstract while spending more on every particular.
In relation to the HACC funds, we are in precisely the same position as every other State. We have been unable to match these illusory Commonwealth growth funds, as is reported. I was reported as describing this as a bit of a two-card trick in respect of the ACT, particularly, because the Commonwealth is waving money around and saying, "If you can match this, you can have it", at a time when ACT finances are being dramatically cut back. The Chief Minister's repeated statements have made that clear.
Mr Cornwell: You had better talk to your Federal Ministers, then, hadn't you?
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Cornwell interjects that I should talk to the Federal Ministers. In fact, as is reported in the Chronicle, the ACT has taken the initiative here in that I have written to all my State colleagues - this is an ACT initiative - and have discovered that we are all in the same boat; that all States are under pressure, and no State is able to fully match. I have responses from about half my State colleagues and that, I should say, is irrespective of whether they are Labor, Liberal or National Party Ministers. I am expecting favourable responses from the rest. We will jointly, as State and Territory Ministers, approach the Commonwealth and say, "This growth money that you are waving around is predicated upon our being able to match it. In the context of declining State finances, can you not release that money so that at least it is going into a useful cause?".
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