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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 3072 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

He has to do his job, he has to prosecute and he has to represent the community. The fact that he needs money to do it is no reflection of the weight we put on restorative judgment, diversionary conferencing or alternative methods of sentencing. I have explained on a number of occasions that we take those things seriously.

We have instituted a serious attempt at establishing a new approach to sentencing. We have undertaken a sentencing review, and it is a major task. Mr Stefaniak acknowledges the need of it. He is even mimicking what we have done by setting up his own sentencing review, despite the fact that the government is doing it. As I have said previously, these are the most irritating and frustrating aspects of what might-

Mr Stefaniak: I'm surprised you did not ask me for a submission; yours is a pretty secretive review.

MR STANHOPE: It is not secretive at all, Bill. We are probably consulting the same people you will end up consulting. It is just that our review will be measured and reasonable and won't be some sort of law-and-order fetish, redneck response to the issues.

Mr Hargreaves: Hang'em high.

MR STANHOPE: That's right: the "hang'em high, throw'em in jail, throw away the key" sort of approach that we know will come out of your review, Bill. We won't be proceeding in that way.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Proposed expenditure-part 17-Education and Community Services, $419,197,000 (net cost of outputs), $29,557,000 (capital injection) and $138,759,000 (payments on behalf of the territory), totalling $587,513,000.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming and Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Corrections) (4.59): I move amendment No 6 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 3097].

At 5.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.

MR PRATT (5.01): Mr Speaker, I rise to support the education budget but to speak about a number of concerns. While we support the passage of the budget, there are areas of significant concern that I believe will need monitoring.

The government has provided a reasonable education budget. It is certainly not reckless. However, it is an uninspiring budget which shows no vision. We are pleased that at least most of the previous government's programs and new initiatives have been carried on, with one major notable exception which I will return to later.

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