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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (13 May) . . Page.. 1241 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

All we see the Minister doing is kowtowing to the major sporting interests that are already well funded. There is absolutely no protection, no guidance, no leadership to ensure that the disadvantaged have a fair go and that sporting communities that do not have a large body of funding or a backer or sponsor of any kind have some sort of protection. He simply lets it all go.

Then, of course, we find out that some groups are advantaged and get a government loan, without any open tendering process for that loan, without any obvious rationale as to why one group should be protected above all others. In the meanwhile, there are other groups struggling, fighting for facilities. It is a disgrace that there is only one ice-skating rink in the ACT and that nothing has ever been done to break that monopoly. That sport is being held back because there is no Government interest in or support for broadening its base. It is a similar situation with table tennis, badminton and a wide range of sports that simply do not have sex appeal and, therefore, do not have major sponsors and a big financial base. Through the absence of proper Government leadership, proper Government support, they have no chance to expand, and there is no chance for people who are genuinely interested in participating to join in. It seems to me that, unless you are part of the rugby fraternity, maybe basketball, maybe a few select others, you have no hope if your child or you want to participate in particular sports.

You can read these budget papers from beginning to end, and all you will find is an obsession with accrual accounting, as if that offers any solution to anything; an obsession with finding money from anywhere at all, rather than dealing with the structural problems that are before us; and a complete absence of any leadership, of any vision for where we are going in the ACT. The vision that may be there is focused entirely on finding clever ways to give more money to the private sector, without ever any guarantee that it will yield anything for the people of the ACT. In the meanwhile, it is simply ignoring the people with disabilities, people who have a very low income, people who are disadvantaged in some way or another and unable to participate in the work force, and those with behavioural difficulties. The Government is hoping that, with all this blather about jobs, they will go away and not create problems for this Government to deal with. It is a very sad budget that shows a sad record of all hype and no action now for three years.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (11.12): I think Ms McRae and I are reading different papers. I think everyone should realise, if they do not already, that for some years the ACT has been in a very difficult financial situation. Despite this, this budget does deliver, in the best possible way I think it realistically could, hope for the Territory; picks up areas where we have been affected by some Federal cuts; and, all in all, I think, is an excellent and responsible budget. Obviously, there are things some people would like which simply are not in there. That is the case with any budget, but I think it is churlish to say that this is a more of the same budget, a bad budget. It is not.

I will deal with a number of areas. Ms McRae made a number of statements in relation to education and in relation to sport. Firstly, in relation to a couple of her comments regarding education: She mentioned school-based management. Yes, that is being enhanced this year; but, as I think I have said on a number of occasions, Mr Speaker,

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