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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 453 ..

MS TUCKER

Government expenditure on tourism marketing in the ACT also needs to be more rigorously assessed. It may be the case that the direct beneficiaries of tourism activity in the ACT, such as the motels, clubs and restaurants, should be paying directly for what is really the promotion of their own businesses. We also question the wisdom of some of the industry assistance schemes implemented by this Government. We wonder whether the supposed employment and other economic benefits of giving various concessions to particular businesses have actually materialised. Before more money is put into these schemes, we want to see a full cost-benefit analysis done and the development of a clear industry strategy to which these schemes contribute.

On the education side: While the Greens are supportive of the maintenance of alternative educational institutions to government schooling, we believe that this should not be at the expense of a high-quality public education system. If funding is limited, we believe that the provision of funding to elite private schools must be challenged on social equity grounds.

The capital works budget should also be reviewed. There is first the question of whether some of these projects should be funded by the Government at all. There is then the question of whether those projects that are legitimate government responsibilities need to be funded immediately or whether the expenditure could be deferred. For example, the amount of money that has been and continues to be spent on refurbishing the open spaces in Civic is a worry, because it is very unclear what real outcome has been achieved. In Civic Square we have had a concreted dull, stark space turned into a paved dull space, and now we see in this year's capital works project another $500,000, I believe, being allocated to try to make the space less than stark and dull.

In many local shopping centres we have had old paving replaced by new red brick paving, but the shops adjacent to these areas are still in a perilous state. There seems to be an opinion in government that, if we just make these places look better and pave them, people will flock to them, instead of addressing the underlying economic and social changes that led to the decline of these shopping centres.

The amount of money being spent on new roads and road maintenance relative to the low funding of public transport measures and cycle paths has been an ongoing issue for the Greens. In relation to Gungahlin and the John Dedman Parkway debate, we have been arguing for some time that the Government should be putting in a first-class public transport system in Gungahlin so that the need for road upgrades can be deferred for as long as possible, yet we are seeing the opposite occur.

On the revenue side of the budget: As I have already said, the Greens have always been honest about the need for a discussion about taxes if the community wants to maintain high standards of government service. Politicians need to be courageous and not always shy away from discussion of taxes just because it is seen as electorally unpopular. If we are having a serious debate about the state of the ACT's finances, then we must look at revenue options as well. However, the Greens do not believe that taxes and charges should just be increased across the board. We believe that the tax system should be used as a tool for achieving greater economic equity and more sustainable use of resources.

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