Page 3357 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 14 November 2007
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services, which was conducted in the last year of the last government—the great Michael Moore legacy—a legacy of the Liberal Party in power. There are an additional 120 police now operating in the ACT.
These are just some of the examples of the difference in approach—the concentration by this government in government on the things that matter to the people of Canberra—an additional $330 million on health, an additional 120 police, and a $350 million investment in public education.
Just this week we see a continuation through the initiatives announced yesterday of this government’s commitment to remove disadvantage, to ensure that this is genuinely an egalitarian society, a community in which everybody, no matter who they are or where they come from, has, through the provision of services by this government, an opportunity to reach their potential and to participate fully in the life of this community.
We do it through the unparalleled level of support which we have provided for public education—the great leveller. If there is one way in which any community can express its commitment to genuine equality of opportunity, to a fair go, it is through access to the highest possible quality public education system. This government’s commitment to public education is unequalled anywhere in Australia, if not the world.
A $350 million investment in public health over four years in a jurisdiction of this size is phenomenal. We do it through a range of other initiatives. They were there yesterday: additional funds to deal with sexual assault, additional funds to allow seniors to travel at half price and half fare, a major commitment to and investment in climate change, student welfare officers for the public education system and support for the private system, and a major investment of $75 million in public transport.
And it goes on and on. There are specific purpose-built facilities for drug and alcohol rehabilitation for Indigenous people. There are specific, targeted education programs to ensure that we assist Indigenous students lagging in their capacity to reach national benchmarks to reach those benchmarks in the way that their non-Indigenous peers do. These are targeted, specific, philosophically-driven initiatives that are not matched by the Liberal Party. What we see again today is a commitment.
It is all laissez faire: “give the people tax cuts; don’t worry about this soft and fuzzy stuff”, as Mrs Burke has called it today in her unprecedented attack on the Minister for Health. The attack today by Mrs Burke on the fact that the Minister for Health has taken maternity leave summarises the attitude this party has to equality of opportunity by all in our society.
Mr Mulcahy: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It relates to standing order 118 (b). This is not relevant to the question about government investment and infrastructure.
MR SPEAKER: Come to the subject matter of the question.
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