Page 3964 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 23 November 1993
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Mr Humphries: They always have.
Mrs Carnell: They did when Mr Kaine was in.
MS FOLLETT: No, they did not. Members opposite, Madam Speaker, are quite wrong in their recollection of the ratings of the ACT. The first rating was while I was Treasurer, as have been subsequent ratings, and they have maintained very high ratings. You can look also at some other independent commentators on the Territory's finances. You can look at the material that has been presented in the Trends bulletin and see there that there is a very positive outlook and that the Territory is in very good financial shape.
Madam Speaker, this has not been easy to achieve. I would not want members opposite to think that it is just a matter of bookkeeping, because it is not. Members know that our funding from the Commonwealth, which is our major source of revenue, has been reduced dramatically year by year, and they know that this will continue to be the case. The basis of sound financial planning is to take that into account, not just for this year but for coming years. We do not just budget on a one-year-at-a-time basis. We have in place a three-year budget strategy which I will be sticking to, and this is year two of it. Madam Speaker, I know that members opposite do not wish to acknowledge the Government's efforts in regard to the budget and financial matters, but others have, and, as I say, I would back my record as Treasurer against anybody's.
In this year, as I have said, it has been extremely difficult to budget because of the massive reduction in Commonwealth funding, but it would have been very wrong and extremely irresponsible for us simply to borrow our way out of trouble. Madam Speaker, I think it would have been equally wrong and equally irresponsible to raise our revenue to levels that would have accounted for the reduction in Commonwealth funding. It has been my position that our revenue should remain in line with the revenue measures in place generally and should not be so far out of kilter that the Territory's residents would be severely disadvantaged or business might find it a disincentive. Our position on revenue has been to maintain it in line generally with what occurs in other States, most particularly New South Wales, although we do not slavishly follow their regime. That leaves you with very few options in managing in reducing circumstances, and the Government has taken a balanced approach to those reducing circumstances.
Part of that balanced approach for some years has been reducing our own costs of administration and, as I said earlier in my comments, we have not been able to quarantine education from that reduction. Nevertheless, we have maintained the quality of our education services, and we have been very mindful of our commitment to social justice and the need to protect schools. Madam Speaker, the fact is that we have respected teachers' working conditions and we have maintained the quality of education. I know that members opposite do not agree with that, but it is a fact.
We will, for instance, be taking some new initiatives in education, like trialling the national profiles as part of the national curriculum. Those national profiles are a basis for better reporting on our students' achievements and I believe that they will be a further step towards increasing the excellence of our education system. We have also put in additional funding for integrating students with
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