Page 720 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 May 1992
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Mr Kaine: Exactly. But you are going to go in for some this year because you do not have 53 grand up your sleeve.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Kaine, would you permit Ms Follett to answer the question, please.
MS FOLLETT: At the same time as we had no new borrowings, we also repaid a quite large amount of borrowings. We did that for the very good reason that it avoids the ongoing cost of those borrowings in the recurrent budget, and it made budgetary sense. Mr Kaine really is asking me to pre-empt the budget, yet again. I have declined to do so on many occasions and I decline to do so again.
MR KAINE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Does that mean then, Chief Minister, that, whereas you said on 7 April that you would produce a budget that does not rely on borrowings, you have now resiled from that?
MS FOLLETT: Of course not, Madam Speaker. I will produce a recurrent budget which does not borrow and, Madam Speaker, I believe that Mr Kaine's question has been fully answered.
Road Maintenance
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Minister for Urban Services. Can the Minister explain the seemingly government vehicles - they are fairly large vehicles with flashing lights - which are being driven fairly slowly around Canberra streets? What have they been doing lately?
MR CONNOLLY: I thank Mr Lamont for the question. As part of this Government's process of sound management and micro-economic reform, which we have spoken of on many occasions, we are going through a process of evaluating the condition of Canberra's roads so that we can make sensible investment decisions on road pavement maintenance - something that had never been done before.
Mr Kaine: What has that to do with micro-economic reform?
MR CONNOLLY: See, there we go. He not only cannot understand budget statements from the Chief Minister and Treasurer; he cannot understand how making decisions on road maintenance impacts upon micro-economic reform. It is a very major area of ACT Government spending. When we do surveys on it, like Wastewatch or the survey that the Government conducted after last year's budget, we get an overwhelming response that Canberra residents are concerned about what they see to be unnecessary spending on minor roadworks. We are going about taking stock of Canberra's roads so that we know how and when we should invest our money to keep that road stock, that infrastructure, in good condition; so that every investment dollar that is made will be spent where it is needed, not wastefully, thus saving significant amounts of money to the Canberra taxpayer and ensuring the long-term viability of our infrastructure. That is micro-economic reform. Look up the definition.
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