Page 1911 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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It is an ambitious four year program. It is a program that takes a long-term focus in providing confidence and stability for industry to support jobs in the short term. It is measured and targeted to increase the productive capacity of our economy in the longer term.
A very large part of our capital investment over the coming years will be funded from our past surpluses.
However, we find ourselves now looking at the need to borrow to deliver this comprehensive and future-building program. This should not come as a surprise given that $1.1 billion has been taken off our budget and forward estimates due to the effects of the global financial crisis.
And for Governments such as our own, with a strong balance sheet, it is widely recognised that it is appropriate to incur some debt, provided that debt is used to finance high quality assets in areas of community need.
These assets provide benefits to the community over a longer period of time. The level of debt is prudent and sustainable.
Mr Speaker, over recent years, we have been improving on the delivery of our capital works. The value of the works completed has been increasing to a new high every year.
The Government is taking further steps to ensure that projects become available to the market on time.
With this Budget I can announce that the Budget Committee of Cabinet will receive a report from each department every second month on the progress of the Capital Works Program. As Treasurer I will meet monthly with each department to oversee the capital works progress.
Health
Mr Speaker, Health remains a key focus of attention and resources in this Budget.
The budget funds health services to meet continuing growth in demand and continues our prudent approach, adopted in 2006 to budgeting for growth in health expenditure across the forward estimates.
We have allocated $272 million over four years taking our total estimated annual recurrent expenditure on health services to $980.3 million in 2009-10.
Our investment in health services delivers on our election commitments in critical care and acute care services in our public hospitals, as well as elective surgery, the health needs of older Canberrans, emergency transport for critically ill patients and a walk-in centre at The Canberra Hospital to improve access to care.
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