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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (19 May) . . Page.. 345 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

As I said before, this reduction is due mainly to the scaling down of the Russell redevelopment and depends on the work schedule associated with the construction of the National Museum. However, this figure should be seen in the context of the Commonwealth's total capital works program in the Territory, which during 1996-97 provided employment for more than 3,800 construction workers and a further 2,200 workers in other sectors. In addition, a major recurrent initiative for the ACT included the provision of $0.5m per annum for four years to fund the Commonwealth's national capital liaison activities via the ACT Liaison Unit in the Department of Transport and Regional Development.

Mr Speaker, the budget continues the policy of job cuts for the Australian Public Service. On public sector employment, the budget identifies total reductions in average departmental staffing levels of around 9,000 jobs. The outsourcing of Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs functions accounts for around 3,000 of this reduction. Allowing for outsourced jobs picked up by the private sector, preliminary estimates of the effects of the remaining reductions suggest that the ACT will see a net fall of about 1,000 jobs in 1998-99. This will create a flow-on loss of around 800 jobs in other sectors.

The job cuts earmarked for the Australian Public Service in 1998-99 should not be looked at in isolation, but as an extension of already savage reductions. The ABS estimates that, between November 1995 and November 1997, Commonwealth employment fell by some 3,700 in the ACT. The latest round of cuts would mean a total loss of jobs in the ACT, direct and indirect, of about 9,000 over three years. These cuts will be taken into account by my department in the preparation of budget forecasts for economic and employment growth for the ACT in 1998-99.

Mr Speaker, there are a number of other measures which will have a very positive effect in Canberra and which have been widely reported, including: The broadening of eligibility for health care card benefits, which is likely to assist many self-funded retirees in Canberra; tourism promotion initiatives; public health initiatives; and regional assistance programs.

Finally, Mr Speaker, the budget does contain some very important measures relating to transport and roads which will boost the ACT's role as a transport hub for the region and build on a number of important new initiatives already announced, such as the Canberra Airport sale and the very fast train project. These measures include: $17m to start work on the upgrade of the Sutton to Watson section of the Federal Highway into Canberra; $300,000 to investigate route options for the Barton Highway between Yass and Canberra; and the release of details which were foreshadowed last year of the Commonwealth's infrastructure borrowing tax offsets scheme, which will provide tax breaks for project developers, paving the way for up to $2 billion in private sector investment in public infrastructure projects such as the very fast train. Overall, the 1998-99 Federal budget is one delivered for the financial markets in a period of uncertainty. It has few surprises, and it was put together against the backdrop of the unveiling of the promised tax reform package.

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