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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3240 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

arrangements and has promised to implement those recommendations. I commend them for taking this course of action. What they need to do now, though, is to make a public commitment to supporting adequate industry standards for the community sector and making sure that services and people working in the services are not exploited. It is not fair that community agencies are caught between a rock and a hard place. They too often have to choose between services and wages for workers. They should be able to deliver services properly, without stress to workers or threats to the quality or quantity of services.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (4.06): Mr Speaker, I rise because some of this motion relates to my areas of responsibility. Something like one-sixth or a little bit less relates to areas I fund. The Chief Minister has come up with a balanced approach. Even Ms Tucker sees the sense of the second amendment the Chief Minister proposes. I ask Mr Berry: Where on earth is the Government going to get this extra $3.5m?

Mr Berry: It was $4.2m a minute ago.

MR STEFANIAK: You wanted $4.2m; but what you are asking for, Mr Berry, I understand, would cost $3.5m more than we have actually allocated in the budget for this eventuality.

Mr Berry: Over how long?

MR STEFANIAK: Over 12 months. Where are you going to get it? Are you going to take up Mr Moore's option of a bed tax? Whilst we do not agree with it, at least he is coming up with suggestions. Are you going to introduce a bed tax to pay for this, Mr Berry? The difference between your Opposition and our Opposition in 1994 is that we put on the table an alternative budget. We listed where savings could be made and where money could be found to fund things.

The Chief Minister has indicated, quite correctly, that since self-government the ACT has had its Federal grants dropped by about 50 per cent. In 1989, we got $500m in untied grants. That is down to about $280m - a drop of about 50 per cent in real terms. There is not a money tree. It is all very well to sit there and say that we need this and that we should spend this and spend that, when there simply is not money there for it. This Government has made money available in its budget. That, Mr Berry, is the limit to which we can spend money. Where is the money coming from over and above that? I ask you to come up with some suggestions, as we did three years ago, as to where you would find the additional money needed for this or any other calls you might make on this Government to fund things. Put your ideas where your mouth is. Come up with some ideas for funding. If we could do it three years ago as an alternative government, surely if you want to get any creditability you lot can do it now. We have not seen anything.

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