Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2200 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

It is a budget that reflects our vision of Canberra as a strong, confident and prosperous community asserting its place in the country's affairs as the nation's capital. It is a vision both of inclusiveness and of supporting those in need.

This budget delivers on the promises we made to the citizens of Canberra. Our plan to shape Canberra's future has seven priority areas and these are being addressed through this budget. These areas are education, health, planning, community engagement, safety, sustainability, economic growth and public service capacity.

Mr Speaker, we promised 20 new police for Canberra. This has been delivered. We promised $27 million more to be spent within the school gate. This has been delivered. We promised an additional $1 million both for respite and disability services and for mental health. This has more than been delivered. The list is extensive.

This is a responsible budget. It delivers a modest general government sector surplus of $5.7 million, and across the four-year budget and forward estimate period it delivers an aggregate budget surplus of $21.2 million. It keeps Canberra in the black over the four-year planning horizon.

The deficit predicted for 2003-04 is, in large part, attributable to the planned introduction of a better system of land development that will generate greater revenue returns in subsequent years.

Mr Speaker, it has not been an easy budget to prepare. The very buoyant economic conditions that gave comfort to the last couple of budgets are expected to tighten somewhat. There have been several other challenges for this budget, and hard decisions have had to be made.

This budget, Mr Speaker, was required to be framed within the context of modest revenue growth with which to fund a number of expenditure priorities and of pressures which can no longer be ignored. It incorporates provisions that rightly should have been included in the budget of the previous government.

Mr Speaker, since coming to government we have been faced with a number of financial issues which the previous government had not addressed-issues which are not small in dollar value or insignificant in their importance to the people of Canberra and to the running of an effective government. Mr Speaker, I can only speculate as to the reasons why some matters were not provided for in the budget of 2001.

Mr Speaker, the Liberals had promised a jail. No capital funding was provided. Labor has now picked up the tab, or at least half the tab. A planning provision of $50 million has been set aside from the cash reserves to fund the construction of a new remand centre in 2003-04. This is a much needed facility for Canberra, and after years of neglect I am pleased to say that there is some concrete progress on this front.

Mr Speaker, the Liberals had committed to the funding of a medical school. No budget funding was provided. Labor has now picked up that tab and has provided both a capital and an ongoing contribution to the medical school.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .