Page 534 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 10 February 2009
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The ACT will also receive around $100 million for the construction of the new public and community housing. Workers in the construction industry will benefit from this initiative as this represents a significant investment in the local housing sector. The most vulnerable in our community should also benefit as this initiative not only provides additional public housing but eases the upward pressure on rents.
The $252 million to be expended on the construction of new defence housing will also benefit the ACT due to the relatively large presence of defence forces. Commonwealth expenditure on road maintenance and road safety will also benefit the ACT with an estimated $1 million for this initiative.
A tax bonus of up to $950 for eligible working Australians should provide a boost to consumption in the ACT and have positive flow-on effects for employment. Further bonuses which will impact positively on consumption include a $950 single-income family bonus for eligible families and a $950 back-to-school bonus for eligible school-age children.
The benefits to the ACT’s public infrastructure are substantial. The benefits to ACT’s householders are substantial, and the benefits to the environment are considerable. There are potential benefits for businesses and incentives for investment. This plan ticks a lot of boxes.
It is early in the economic downturn, and the plan is formulated and implemented quickly when the economy is before its lowest point. It is temporary and targeted—temporary so it does not distort other activity in the economy in the medium term and targeted in order to maximise the impact on growth from a given budgetary outlay.
One would hope that eventually the plan gets bipartisan support. I think it is very difficult to argue against investing in schools, and what person in the community would object to our schools getting new or upgraded libraries, halls or computer laboratories or improving other buildings? This is perhaps the smartest investment the community can make for the future. It increases the productive capacity of the economy, it supports jobs, and it provides a real, improved asset for generations to come. This is the investment that the previous federal government should have made when times were good.
Commonwealth funding for schools will complement the significant investment in school infrastructure that we have made since 2006-07. Around $350 million has been invested in quality school facilities, with the maintenance budget increased by 25 per cent in 2006-07. The program of work continues with every school being upgraded, and this will complement the work already done.
The commonwealth will help further improve school environments in the ACT, and it has been welcomed by parents, students and the broader ACT community. They recognise that the unprecedented investment will benefit our students’ learning in the long term and have real long-term benefits.
Mr Speaker, I know there has been some concern—in fact, I think concern from the opposition today—around the impact of this package on the ACT and particularly on
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