Page 1318 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
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on a sustainable growth path, as the minister outlined earlier, while maintaining its quality and range of services. There are now greater education options for students in government schools, as we know. The government has reduced the cost of administration through streamlined structures and processes. Taking advantage of the ACT’s small scale, the government has made efficiencies in service delivery.
Mr Speaker, the government has restructured the territory’s finances without compromising the services it delivers. It has achieved this through sound financial management. It has reduced the cost of government and provided simpler and better access to services. Expenditure has been tightly controlled and efficiency gains directed to front-line, high-priority services. Indeed, the government has, within a climate of fiscal constraint, enhanced funding for programs for the disadvantaged, enabling people with disadvantage to access the services they need. It goes without saying that, without the government’s responsible financial management, the high-quality services we now enjoy would not be sustainable.
Over the past 5½ years the government has achieved significant results for the ACT community. These results have been achieved despite cuts in commonwealth payments to high-need services such as hospitals, disability services and housing in the order of 10 per cent over the last five years. Let’s take a few examples of what this government has been doing. In education, the budget is now higher than at any time previously. In fact, expenditure on government schools has increased by around 26 per cent. This investment has funded smaller class sizes, skilled teachers and modern equipment, particularly in information technology. Learning and teaching environments in our public schools have been improved by a record $90 million investment over four years and $20 million is being used to improve information technology.
In health, this government has increased expenditure even more significantly—by over 70 per cent to just over $756 million. Expenditure on hospital services has increased by around $220 million, or 80 per cent, to around $490 million. We have funded more hospital beds and more elective surgery. We have enhanced intensive and critical care and provided more medical and nursing staff and a greater operating theatre capacity. Our hospitals have also managed a 29 per cent increase in demand for inpatient services over the past five years or so. An additional $22 million has been provided for increased elective surgery throughput.
Mental health expenditure has increased by $25 million, or 97 per cent, with more specialist mental health providers, more facilities for mental health inpatients, more supported accommodation for young people with serious mental illnesses and more early intervention strategies having been funded. Additionally, increased disability services have been funded. Expenditure has increased by 76 per cent over the past five years. There are now more services for individuals with a disability and those with complex needs, with more respite care, community assistance, crisis intervention and, importantly, support for carers.
Funding for the care and protection of children has increased by 174 per cent. There is additional funding for substitute care and foster carers, strengthened support for children at risk and more front-line staff. Greater support is being given to young people at risk of not achieving their potential. Police facilities have been upgraded and
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