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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2142 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

The other part about it is that the time people are waiting for a certain type of house in a certain regional area is longer. It is now considerably longer if you are waiting for a family house in Tuggeranong. I think that is a criterion you might look at. Waiting lists are an interesting way of measuring government activity, but they do not always show what the outcomes are.

Let me quickly mention the capital works budget. I was glad that it was pointed out by OFM officials that you agreed to changes to the reporting of capital works and the scrutiny of that budget. This year, even though it is counted as $22.78m of new works, if you take out the extra $5.4m that has been added, is there actually only $16m of new works or not? I think that is something that it would be interesting to have clarified. Is that $5.4m that was clawed back from Costello - I am surprised that he gave up anything - additional to that $22m?

The figure for ongoing works is $11.884m, but we notice that old perennial, the building better cities money, still sitting there - $9m for Condamine Court. There is very little for continuing capital works in this budget. I hope that means that all of it was finished last year and that more people have housing. We also have the $0.539m to spend on the COOOL project, which was put down as six houses, whereas, in fact, it was six units in two houses - an unfortunate mistake in recording. Of course, if you had got on with those houses last year, as was expected, that money would have already been spent. We would not have it still sitting in the budget in 1997-98. Those houses should have been finished, and people should be living in them.

Before I finish, I could not let the chance go by to talk about the Kick Start program.

Mr Stefaniak: Marion, I thought you were going to. I thought that this would be a record.

MS REILLY: I do not like to disappoint, Mr Stefaniak.

Mr Stefaniak: It is like going to hear the Beatles and they do not sing Help, is it not? You really want them to sing it, and then they finally do. So, go for your life.

MS REILLY: I think it is a pity that you treat so lightly a program - - -

MR SPEAKER: Order! I repeat: If you two want to have a debate, go outside and do it.

MS REILLY: You speak to him.

There is a program of $2.5m listed in this year, in 1996-97. I notice that they are going to support a further 500 buyers next year - another use of language that is a bit loose. So, there is another $2.5m that has been allocated. We know about late starts of budgets and all of those things. After an extensive advertising campaign, fewer than 100 people have taken this up. We will see where the figures go. My figures have always been pretty accurate by the time you have produced them for me. I still raise this issue:

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