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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (11 March) . . Page.. 631 ..

MR WOOD

Government at its word. "Caring", they claim. Well, of course, it was done to suit the purpose of the day. It was the model that they wanted to present last year. But on Tuesday, when this debate started, it was clear that they have put that aside.

The purpose of the day now is for the Government to say how hard up they are but how well off the ACT community is, and we have been following that rhetoric now for some time as the Government sets the scene for the time when it brings in its budget. We are affluent. We are paid more. The documents the Chief Minister gave us the other day show that. We know that. The statistics have shown that for years. We are an affluent society, so when the budget comes down we can bear the increased costs. We are comfortable. Does it mean that we are selfish? Figures are given for the extent of private housing ownership. Does this mean that we are going to dispose of housing stock? Employment figures were given again today, so we are so well employed that we can take any hardships that this Government imposes upon us.

Clearly, what is happening in this period is that the Government is setting the scene for its next budget. Broadly, we are going to be moving from a clever and caring society to an opulent society that can pay more. That is what it is all about, and that is what this motion is all about. But the motion needs to be about more than that. The motion that we are debating, given to us by the Chief Minister, ignores the difficulties that many people face. Certainly, there is a broad reference to services, and to be fair I will quote it. In part it says:

... supported by a government which provides quality services now and into the future.

There are all the lines, in a motion nearly a page long, that make any comment on difficulties that may exist on the part of many in our community. There is nothing more specific than that. There is no reference to what those services need to be. There are plenty of other references about tightening the belt. That was certainly the case. It was reinforced in that folder that the Chief Minister gave us with a lot of supporting documentation. There is not a thing there about the difficulties that many face. There is no reference to those in need, no reference to poor people or to people in difficult circumstances. Yet, if the motion and the presentation are to be credible, that document needs a full range of statistics about poverty and need - the condition of poverty that many have in this community and the circumstances of need that people have.

Let me reflect briefly on that. Last year the Smith Family pointed out the plight of thousands of families in the ACT. It was wintertime. Let me quote what was said:

The Smith Family, one of Canberra's leading welfare agencies, is facing an unprecedented demand for its services this winter.

That was on 23 June last year, as quoted in the Valley View. Further on in that report it says:

"Demand for our service this winter has been higher than ever before and without assistance we face the sad prospect of not being able to help all the people who are coming to us".

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