Page 2777 - Week 09 - Thursday, 26 August 1993
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Mr Cornwell: Dickensian.
MR CONNOLLY: Dickensian - it is a valid basis of comparison to ask what happens elsewhere. When we look at what happens elsewhere, we see that we fit pretty much in the middle of the rates of payment.
Mr Humphries: That makes it all right then - "Other people are bastards too. We can do that".
MR CONNOLLY: This is the cheapness of the current opposition strategy. You are all things to all people. You can stand there at your ratepayers meetings and get your executive member to say, "It is terrible that the ACT Government is spending rates money on welfare. That is an awful thing". Then you go around to Barnardo's and say, "It is terrible that we are not spending enough money on your program". Any politician can get cheap brownie points by promising all things to all people. "Yes, I will double the expenditure to Barnardo's", says Mr Cornwell, "if I get into office". He no doubt promises that to everybody. We do have to operate within a budget, and within that budget we are providing a rate of assistance that is quite comparable with other States' rates.
Mr De Domenico's comment, though, when I demonstrated that our rates of payment are comparable with, indeed in some cases more generous than, other States' rates was, "Yes, but you have to look at special needs". Indeed you do, Mr De Domenico. So we have differing rates of payment for special needs categories. For example, in the 12- to 17-year-old category, that can be elevated to $188. So we can go from $106 as the standard payment up to $188. In the case of a younger child, from 0 to 11, our standard rate is $72, and it is $64.50 in New South Wales, $55.50 in Victoria, and $70.75 in South Australia. Again, our payment is very comparable; in fact, it is the most generous. However, for 0 to 11 years in a special needs category that can go up to $107.
We do not say that because Barnardo's run a nice program we will pay them at a higher rate. We say to each of the excellent providers - and I am not disparaging Barnardo's' efforts; they have provided for many years a very high-quality service in the ACT, as have Marymead, Richmond Fellowship and Open Family - "We will pay you a basic rate. If you have a child with special needs, we will pay you at a higher rate". In addition, there is a further category available for young people with severe difficulties. Payments in this category are at the discretion of the director of family services and range between $200 and $350 per week. In fact, Barnardo's have several of these latter arrangements in place at the moment, as do some of the other programs. Our approach, rather than this sort of arbitrary one - - -
Mr Cornwell: Is cheap.
MR CONNOLLY: It is so easy for an opposition to say, "It is cheap". It is a level of payment which compares favourably with payments in other States. You, in your opposition mode, can run around saying, "You are cheap. You are cheap. Spend more. Spend more". How do you pay for what we spend, Mr Cornwell? You pay for it by taxes. What happens when we impose taxes, given that the rates revenue is our basic mode of taxation? What does the Liberal Party say when we impose taxes? Listen to Ms Spier, your executive member, on
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