Page 1399 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2009
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I am quoting from the submission to the public accounts committee. It goes on to state:
As a result of the financial crisis, people and families who have not previously sought support in financial counselling, housing or crisis services are turning to community organizations as they find it more difficult to cope.
These are households, Treasurer. These are the households that you said on Tuesday are not experiencing the impacts. The submission goes on to state:
However many community organisations are reporting they are unable to meet the needs of their current clients, and have little capacity to increase service delivery to people feeling the effects of the economic crisis.
ACTCOSS goes on to say:
Steps taken in the second appropriation of 2008-09 to assist community organisations to provide crisis support were welcome. However, organisations who received funding are reporting far higher demand than the funds can provide for. Additional funding needs to be allocated to organisations to assist them to meet the increasing demands on their services in the current economic climate.
So the appropriation bill will go through, Madam Deputy Speaker. We are not going to punish the building industry because the government cannot answer adequately the questions, but what it shows is that we have a clueless Treasurer, an insensitive Treasurer and an out-of-touch Treasurer who does not acknowledge that there are people in crisis out there, that there are people who need assistance and that this—
Ms Gallagher: That is not what I said, Brendan.
Mr Hanson: It sounded like it.
MR SMYTH: You said that there are no impacts.
Ms Gallagher: No.
MR SMYTH: You said people have not been impacted upon.
Ms Gallagher: No, I did not. I did not.
Mr Hanson: Everything is going so well in the ACT; there is no problem.
MR SMYTH: You said households have not been impacted upon.
Ms Gallagher: I did not. I did not.
Mr Hanson: That is what you said.
MR SMYTH: So with a Treasurer who does not listen—
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