Page 1212 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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The way this government expends funds that it does not have on vanity projects provides Canberrans with the evidence needed to show that their government, it would seem, is committed to expending taxpayer funds on anything other than people.
I say “people” because it is difficult to understand how the Stanhope government can explain to the electorate its justification for expending tens of millions of dollars on fanciful projects at a time when we can least afford them. In particular, I am talking about the arboretum. Leaving aside the water issue, let’s look at the sheer practicalities of spending this amount of money on such a project. As I have said, it would be obviously far more beneficial at this point in time to plough these funds into reducing access block, for example, in our hospitals and on chronic disease management. I see that the federal government have very much highlighted that and pumped money into the system, Ms Gallagher. We may talk about the dental program soon.
Ms Gallagher: Yes, we will.
MRS BURKE: Are you are saying they are wrong and that you do not like $5,898,000,000 being pumped into the federal health system? I think that that is an interesting notion from the health minister. Will this government commit to providing more individual support packages to improve the quality of life of people with a disability or to offering more appropriate forms of housing options to Canberrans in need of housing assistance? They talk a lot about that but, again, do nothing.
Mr Speaker, it is our obligation in this place to remind all Canberrans that the territory continues to do exceptionally well in economic terms from the programs or initiatives delivered, not so much by the local government, but by the Howard government. The Howard government takes its budget and estimates processes and reporting seriously.
Ms Gallagher: Oh, yes!
MRS BURKE: They do, Ms Gallagher. It seems that the ACT Treasurer, through his absence for the first week of the forthcoming estimates committee hearings, does not. I think we really have to take a long, hard look at why this government is in denial. Unlike the Howard government, which clearly has people at the heart of its economic decisions, the Stanhope government is continually focused on personal projects and wasting taxpayers’ money. We can see from the complaints we get—I am sure the government have done their own polling and are getting the same message—that we are paying more and getting less.
The growth in the ACT could only be attributed to the excellence in economic management of the Howard government creating jobs, creating wealth and creating infrastructure projects. My final point, which is a very important one, is that when the Stanhope government runs out of money due to poor financial management, what does it do? It cries poor. What does it do then? It expects the commonwealth to cough up the funding to cover its financial ineptitude.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (4.09): This is an important motion in the run-up to the ACT budget next week, keeping in mind that this government had held off its budget this year ostensibly so that it could find out what goodies were in store for it in the
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