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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2313 ..

Revenue from traffic infringement fines will increase in this budget from $5 million to $7.2 million in 2000-2001. This is a 45 per cent increase. This is what this government will do to sneak in price hikes in areas where the people are least likely to realise it. They use the old hoary one-if you don't commit the crime, you don't pay the fine.

The same thing will happen with speed cameras. When the first two were introduced, the government said that the revenue from the cameras would decrease. However, from the budget we see that, in addition to the inclusion of two extra cameras, revenue will continue to climb. Now, I know the minister will rabbit on about how Canberrans now speed less, and we acknowledge that the rate of speeding has decreased-fantastic. But in the minister's own words, in his own statement reported in that most illustrious of magazines, the Canberra Times, he says, "The number of people who are speeding today has increased." I will repeat that-"The number of drivers who are speeding has increased." That is a quote from the minister.

I have been recorded in this place as saying that I do not think that this is a road safety measure. I think that, in fact, the minister's own words prove the point. We have not persuaded enough people who speed to stop speeding. We may have stopped them from speeding at a certain level over the speed limit, but we have not persuaded them to stop speeding.

The point that I am trying to make is that, when we first started this process, I said that, if it was accompanied by the five E's recommended by the NRMA, then it might bring about a change in driver behaviour. But we didn't do the five E's in the order in which the NRMA recommended, and so we're not seeing that change in driver behaviour. The proof of that can be found in what the minister has told us: the number of people who are speeding has increased. Now, he can quote any other statistics he likes, but from his own mouth we have learned that the number of people who are speeding has increased. They haven't changed their driving behaviour.

Last year we discovered that 189 playgrounds in the ACT didn't meet Australian standards. Now, the government has revealed that 68 playgrounds have been repaired at a total of $700,000, with another $300,000 spent this year. First, I'd like to say good on the government for doing the ones they've done. However, I don't think that the government ought to be congratulated for this huge effort all that much, because the fact remains that there are still 121 playgrounds that don't meet the standards, and there appears to be no out-year funding to take care of the last 100 playgrounds.

I believe $300,000 has been provided for this coming year, that will actually take care of about 20 playgrounds, but there are still 100 missing. There are no funds in the out years. The government can provide funding in the out years for roads and for public housing, and yet it can't provide it to look after the safety of school kids. Not even school kids, pre-school kids.

A budget is not a budget to this government if there aren't job cuts. Sixty-three jobs will be cut over the next five years, but no doubt this will be revised for the next year's budget. Twenty-three jobs are to be slashed from this year's budget. From the Urban Services figures, it appears that a good percentage of jobs will go from areas at the lower end of DUS, especially for people from non-English-speaking backgrounds. This government is ruthless in targeting the people who are least able to fight for themselves.

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