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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2356 ..

MS DUNDAS (continuing):

where are the preventive strategies to keep people out of the legal system? We should never promote incarceration and fines over the prevention of antisocial behaviour.

Despite the increase for housing in the capital works budget, we still have a chronic shortage of affordable housing and the number of public and community housing dwellings is not predicted to increase even to the levels that they were at in 2000. This government is not tackling the challenges left behind by the last government. The budget provides $80,000 for the setting up of a Lifeline service for people to ring when they are seeking emergency accommodation, but that is not a solution. When people contact Lifeline, what is Lifeline to do? Canberra's refuges are full and all members should be aware of the extent of the problem.

We are hearing stories of those escaping domestic violence having to wait up to several weeks to get a place in a refuge and of whole families living in cars, and what the government has given us is just more money for a referral service. People are being turned away from the refuges and shelters because existing residents cannot find affordable housing to go to. Students are being housed two to a room in our universities. The windfall gains from betterment tax and the increased conveyancing duties should be spent on providing community and ACT public housing. The duty windfall of last year will continue in this financial year, so why not earmark this money for spending on affordable housing, where it is needed?

Maintaining the idea of Canberra looking good from a distance was continued in the area of public transport. There is money for new, shiny buses but still no new timetable services. While the Australian Democrats support the removal of the zonal bus fares, public transport experts all state that on-time running and rapid services are always taken into account by commuters before cost, so it may have been possible that the community would endure higher non-concession fares if buses ran on time, had faster travel times, and ran more frequently at nights and on the weekends.

Perhaps we could curtail the record high spending on capital works this year and actually provide more bus services. In short, if there are more people on public transport and fewer private cars, then the need for extra roads decreases. This is a matter of priorities, and the capital works section of this budget allocated 16 times more funding for roads than it did for footpaths, cycleways and public transport infrastructure combined. Upgrades to the Belconnen and Woden interchanges are needed. These are not just cosmetic changes that I am talking about; these are real changes, about making people feel safe whilst waiting for a bus or using the park-and-ride services.

Mr Deputy Speaker, this budget shows that the Stanhope government is a government that is all talk, all review, but, unfortunately, of little action. This government is reviewing all sorts of policies, whilst funding and implementing the policies of the former Liberal government. We have plenty of money for reviews but little money for follow-up. Last year we had $100,000 spent on a review to tell us that we need a purpose-built Kippax library, but in this budget there is no money for this library. Earlier this year I presented a petition from 900 residents calling for the Kippax library and community facility, but this government is ignoring the residents of West Belconnen. We are seeing half a million dollars being allocated for education reviews, but no money being allocated this year or in future years to implement any recommendations. Further, we are paying $100,000 for a review into the chronic

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