Page 2028 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 8 September 1992
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It was heartening to see a commitment to the neighbourhood school system in the ALP platform, but that reassurance was undermined by the abolition of the regional support offices and the abolition of the four preschool executive officer positions. There are some moves to fill the gap that was left by this move, but unfortunately the confidence of the community in the ALP's commitment has been shaken by such action. The ALP have made a very strong commitment to public schooling, but there will be many people paying close attention to the upcoming budget to see to what extent there is determination behind the words.
In the area of public housing, I have spoken at some length, in another debate in this Assembly on the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, on the need for the confirmation of a strong public housing system. In the area of public health, the ALP also released an election policy statement, and I would hope that there will be an honouring of the commitments made in that document. Due to the current speculation about forthcoming health cuts, the community is again concerned that pre-election rhetoric may not have the post-election commitment it needs to be brought to fruition. In particular, the Government needs to reaffirm and continue to reaffirm its commitment to public health facilities on Acton Peninsula. With the loss of Royal Canberra Hospital, Canberrans feel that they have lost a public hospital asset. We need to ensure that those uses identified in the ALP health policy - rehabilitation and aged care, convalescent facilities, the relocated Queen Elizabeth II home for mothers and babies and a hospice - become reality. I note the commitment to an adolescent ward at Woden Valley Hospital and will be interested in the Government's comments when that matter is debated in the Assembly.
To move on from the election process, the Government has confirmed some initiatives and foreshadowed others. It has affirmed its commitment to extend the Jobskills program into the private sector and said that it will establish an independent health complaints unit to protect consumers. It has been heard, as a result of a notice of motion debate, that the Government will develop a long-term plan for the funding and development of high schools and provide them with the extra resources they need to tackle the increasing need for improved pastoral care, counselling and careers advice.
From the community perspective, there is a need for greater consultation on issues of social importance - public health, public schools, public transport, public housing and community services. Along with the development of the social agenda, there is a need to fulfil one of the major platforms on which this Government stood - public consultation. In bringing its social justice policies into being, the ALP needs to be mindful that the ACT community needs to feel that it owns the agenda and is not left wondering about the decisions taken on its behalf.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (4.12): The first issue that I would like to address in this debate is the rudeness of the Leader of the Opposition in raising a matter of so-called public importance, or one that he felt was of public importance, and then refusing to listen to the Chief Minister's response. The Chief Minister responded, as she ought to respond, to such an outrageous claim by the Leader of the Opposition. The Liberals have no reason to raise the issue of a social agenda because they do not really understand the term anyway. I think the Liberals think it is going out for drinky-poohs, off to the theatre, and doing all those sorts of things. A social agenda for the Labor Party means delivering real social change for the people of the ACT, and it means better services for the community as a whole.
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