Page 3008 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 14 September 1993
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With respect to funding for non-government schools, the Government will break the nexus that set the level of ACT government funding at 50 per cent of the Commonwealth's level. In future years, territorial funding will be adjusted in line with comparable government school costs.
The major provider of vocational education and training services, the Canberra Institute of Technology, will maintain its course offerings and education loads at similar levels to past years. Capital assistance of $12m is to be provided in 1993-94 to the institute to establish an international hotel school at the Hotel Kurrajong site. Over the next three years, $16.9m will be provided for this purpose in the form of a repayable interest-bearing advance. The Government expects that, in conjunction with an international academic partner, the school will be recognised internationally and become a centre of excellence, together with the School of Tourism and Hospitality, in an industry which is very important to the ACT.
In the 1992 budget I announced a program of efficiencies in ACTION which will save the ACT $10m per annum by 1994-95. These measures are being achieved on schedule, to the credit of the ACTION staff and management. We expect that significant changes in ACTION's operations will occur over the next two years. In particular, a move to a more flexible work force will allow peak period and peak seasonal services to be delivered at lower cost.
As I outlined at budget time last year, most agencies are required to find cumulative savings of 2 per cent for each of three years. This is the second year of that strategy, and agencies have plans in place to save $5.2m in 1993-94. The establishment of a combined Fire and Emergency Service is bearing fruit. Co-location of the communications network of the service with the ACT Ambulance Service at North Curtin School, which is funded in this budget, will produce savings in future years. The Fire and Emergency Service is also implementing a three-year management plan which will result in a total saving of 3 per cent, or $316,000, in 1993-94. The efficiency of services to government such as survey and mapping, asset management and ACT Fleet, will be increased. It is not sensible in these tight financial times to pay more for our own service provision than we need to.
Members of the Assembly will be aware of the pressure applied to all State and Commonwealth budgets to reduce costs and to be as efficient as possible. We are taking positive steps in education, health and other areas to improve efficiency. The people of the ACT expect efficient operations. The financing situation facing the ACT requires similar strategies to be pursued in future years. We cannot wait to put in place processes which will provide a source of savings for future years.
In this budget, the Government has taken the opportunity to consider the shape and size of the ACT Government Service. While we remain firmly opposed to forced redundancies, we know that there are many staff who would welcome an opportunity to start a new career or to retire from the paid work force. In light of the unavoidable need to make substantial running cost reductions, we have decided to introduce immediately a voluntary separation scheme.
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