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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2211 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

called public school system. No, there had not been any additional injection of funds. The government gives some money to the Smith Family, so chose to bolster its social capital document by saying that this is a fantastic government/community partnership. This was a program that came out of the Smith Family's understanding of the dire need that ACT families are in.

This budget fails to properly account for the social and economic costs of increasing income polarisation-

MR SPEAKER: Excuse me, Ms Tucker, but we are discussing part 3, which is the Chief Minister's Department.

MS TUCKER: I understand that the whole social policy is seated in Chief Minister's. This is my speech on the budget, and I think it is totally relevant. There is a social policy unit, Mrs Carnell told us yesterday, although it is hard to notice in practice.

This budget fails to properly account for the social and economic costs of increasing income polarisation, changing social care and support needs, increased regressivity in the revenue base, especially and as well the federal government's approach, diminishing confidence in public systems of support, and environmental sustainability. That is the analysis the Greens are interested in.

The government has told us that now they have the budget in order they will look at the social issues. This is a shocking admission of the neglect of community concerns which some of us have been pointing out each year. With this admission, there is not an acknowledgment that this neglect would obviously have had consequences for the community; that damage would have been done. The concept of accrual accounting is based on the understanding that it is wise to look at more than the current cash flow; that an assessment of the current situation should include assessment of accruing liabilities. Unfortunately, this concept has not been extended to anything other than superannuation and depreciation.

However, in government it is imperative and a basic responsibility to look more broadly than this. We must acknowledge the social and environmental implications of all our policy decisions for now and into the future. Good governance is about more than accounting. It is about developing a policy framework which facilitates strengthening of the community condition to enable social development for a sustainable and fair society.

Social development can be measured by looking at issues such as participation, inclusion, equity and rights. Processes of good governance include consultation, needs analysis, discussion and debate. In this city this week these principles have been highlighted in the conference on healthy cities. I spoke at that conference on the subject of how global financial regulation can impact on the ability of local communities to find appropriate local solutions.

I examined the processes of the WTO, to test them against the fundamental principles of empowerment which are necessary for social and community development, whether on a global scale or whether on a local scale. Of course, the WTO does not rate at all well.

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