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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2028 ..

government is offering them. That would have been good for the game. It would not have come from government coffers and I think that there would have been win-win situations all round. But the government has chosen not to follow that up.

There are some funding requirements in the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services, including concession payments for electricity, water and sewerage charges. We certainly welcome those. There is some money there to cover the increasing costs for relief disability support staff, which I think is important.

When we get to ACT Housing, we see that it is to get $33 million. I just wonder how much of that actually will get to be spent, Mr Speaker. We gave housing $10 million two years ago. It has spent $3 million of that, that is, $1.5 million a year or 15 per cent of the amount a year. At that rate, about $4.5 million a year will be spent; so, with $33 million, there is about eight years worth of housing here at the current rate of expenditure by the minister. I hope that they will get their act together and actually spend this money and address the needs that clearly exist and that this government seems to be ignoring.

Under justice and community safety, there is money for some accommodation for the Emergency Services Bureau, for some command vehicle garaging and for some generators, which I think will be welcomed.

Mr Quinlan: You don’t have to read the bill to us, mate.

MR SMYTH: But we need to make our own commentary on it, Mr Treasurer. We just want to make sure that you know that we are watching what you are doing.

Mr Quinlan: The world is listening.

MR SMYTH: Of course the world is listening. The airwaves are out there, Mr Speaker. It is good to see them paying attention.

MR SPEAKER: Direct your comments through the chair, Mr Smyth. Mr Quinlan will cease interjecting.

MR SMYTH: Sorry, Mr Speaker, but I just cannot help rising to the jibes sometimes. They are shallow, but they are worth getting back at. You would understand that position, Mr Speaker. I suspect that some days you might miss the old spite from the benches and the cut and thrust across the chamber.

Mr Speaker, for supporting children at risk, the government asked initially for $2.8 million, with a capital injection of $465,000. I am not aware that an amendment has been tabled.

Mr Quinlan: No. We have to get to the detail stage.

MR SMYTH: No. There is an amendment coming that will take the amount closer to $7 million to cover costs. The committee was apprised of that a couple of weeks ago. We have made some comment about how this area of the department actually comes to its figures. Clearly, it is a moveable feast—one officer said that it is an art, not a science—but we have called for closer scrutiny about how those figures are collected. The officers

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