Page 3010 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 14 September 1993
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provides an opportunity to establish benchmarks, models of best practice, and an ongoing program of evaluating efficiency and effectiveness. In this way, we can maintain the momentum to reduce costs towards those in comparable facilities elsewhere. This is particularly important with the growing proportion of our health services provided to interstate residents and reimbursed at standard costs.
As I indicated earlier, the housing program is undergoing a careful restructuring of its programs to take account of changing economic circumstances. A joint review involving the Treasury, the Housing Trust and external expertise will be conducted in 1993-94. From this process, the Government will be able to consider alternative policy options for implementation in 1994-95 and subsequent years.
Madam Speaker, members of the Assembly and the community at large are conscious of the harsh financial environment facing the ACT this year and over the next four or so years. The Government has faced and met the challenge of shaping a budget that confronts this adjustment, without neglecting essential support to our community. In our first budget this term we implemented a large part of our election platform. Now is the time to consolidate our achievements and to tackle the challenges lying ahead.
This budget will place the ACT firmly on a medium-term path of restructuring to accommodate our adjustment to State-type financing. The savings announced in the budget will have a lasting impact. Those measures, together with the important initiatives involving restructuring of the ACT Government Service, lay the foundation for further savings in subsequent budgets. The limited new spending measures are focused on pursuing our top priority objectives of social justice, the environment and jobs from economic strength. The funding burden placed on our community in this and future generations has been contained. Only modest new revenue measures have been imposed. Borrowing has been kept low and is justified by investment and restructuring. Future superannuation liabilities are being provided for.
The quality of life in the ACT is enviable and Canberra residents do not want to lose it. Our economy is strong, our environment clean and our city increasingly vibrant. Canberrans expect high-quality essential services, delivered as efficiently as possible and targeted where they are most needed. This is what Canberrans will receive from the 1993-94 budget. I commend the budget to the Assembly.
Madam Speaker, I present the explanatory memorandum to this Bill, together with the following associated budget papers:
Budget Speech 1993-94 (Budget Paper No. 1).
Budget Overview 1993-94 (Budget Paper No. 2).
Capital Works 1993-94 (Budget Paper No. 4).
Environmental Budget Statement 1993-94 (Supplementary Budget Information Paper No. 2).
Program Information and Estimates 1993-94 (Budget Paper No. 3).
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