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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 9 Hansard (20 August) . . Page.. 2420 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

adjustments be treated differently from savings-so that, when we talk about savings, we have a true picture of what savings are.

Moving on to substantive policy issues, I will touch on some of those. I may repeat what other people have said, but I hope my comments will bring a different aspect. In relation to CPI indexing for services in youth and family services, like Ms Dundas and, I think, most members of the committee, I was concerned that this would have a substantial, indiscriminate impact on organisations which provide essential services, in large part, to the people who are most in need.

I was disturbed that there was no contrition, no remorse and no particular concern from the minister. It was just a decision that had been made-that was it, and we had to live with it because of this decision. I think members of organisations which provide essential services in the community and welfare sector will find that next year and continuing years will be much more difficult.

On decisions that we just have to live with, I cannot go past this Estimates Committee report without referring to funding for non-government schools and, in particular, the paltry application of $1 million, so far, out of the $16 million allocated from the free school bus money. That $1 million means that slightly more than 5 per cent of the money is going to systemic schools for IT output.

It raises the question of what to do with the children in other schools who are not part of the Catholic systemic school system-they miss out entirely. It means you have about 5 per cent of the money going to 40 per cent of the children. I would say, as I have said on a number of occasions, that this is an abandonment of nearly 40 per cent of school children, and their families, by this government. I hope that, in time, they will be brought under sufficient pressure to re-examine this decision.

I draw to members' attention the views of the Catholic Education Office about how unfair the budget is in relation to children in Catholic schools, whether they be systemic or non-systemic. Quoting the director of the Catholic Education Office, Mr Geoff Joy-I have seen this in many places and I was able to pick it up in the Catholic Voice that I just happened to have lying around the office-the budget is unfair and that election promises on schools have been broken in a big way.

Mr Joy said that the government has broken its election promises in a big way in its 2002-03 budget, which has resulted in monstrous inequity in funding for Catholic schools. He said that Catholic schools enrol 28 per cent of ACT children, but will receive only 5 per cent of new funds allocated by this government. I hope this message goes out loud and clear to those 40 per cent of people in this territory-that, at the moment, this government is not interested in them.

Moving from education, I would like to touch briefly on an issue that has not, as yet, been raised here. It is one that I consider as a health and safety issue which impacts on many people across the ACT. Members of the committee were concerned-and there is a recommendation to this effect-that, as a result of changes to the standards of bridges, there have been numerous diversions of heavy traffic into areas which are entirely inappropriate.

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