Page 2093 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 May 2009
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Last year, we put forward infrastructure Canberra, a comprehensive plan to ensure more effective delivery of infrastructure in the territory. It was comprehensive; it was welcomed by industry; and it would have made a real difference to infrastructure delivery in the ACT. Today I can announce that we will be putting this policy into legislative form for the consideration of the ACT Assembly. I call upon the Greens and the Labor Party to support this positive initiative as a key reform to underpin economic growth in the territory. We cannot go on with this underdelivery and underspend on infrastructure year after year after year.
The issues we have with health are as obvious as they are unaddressed, that we have too much focus on grand plans and not enough focus on results. We still have one of the worst performing health systems in the country in a number of key indicators.
Although we support much of the spending in this budget which I will also touch on soon, we are concerned that this budget is planning to strip money from ACT Health. But they will not tell us. Again, Katy Gallagher will not say how or when or what. Our already struggling health system will be forced to find $19.8 million worth of savings over the next four years. I ask you now: what will become —
Ms Gallagher: It’s not true. You’ve got the wrong numbers.
MR SESELJA: Now there will not be efficiency dividends in health.
The education part of the budget does contain an absolutely fantastic idea to reduce class sizes in primary schools. What a stroke of genius!
Mr Barr: High schools and colleges.
MR SESELJA: We will see about that, I suppose. Unfortunately, it was not the government that led this victory for the teachers and children in our public schools; it was the Canberra Liberals as early as June last year. Was it eagerly embraced? Was bipartisan support offered? No. It was met with derision, scorn and sneering. When we first announced our policy for smaller class sizes in the middle of last year, the Labor Party said it was unaffordable. Wild costings were circulated to try to discredit the concept. It was bad policy, we were told. All of that was wrong.
Then came the backflip. After weeks and months of talking up the evils of the idea, after weeks of denying the value of the policy, Andrew Barr was forced to stand in a press conference and pretend nothing said previously had been uttered. While the fact of smaller classes is welcome, the sad truth is: the motivation was not a sudden insight into sound educational policy by the Labor Party.
Mr Stanhope: I think you brought the wrong speech. He’s brought the wrong speech down.
MR SESELJA: I am sorry, I was not aware that smaller classes were not funded in this budget. We have a very sensitive Chief Minister when it comes to this issue. The embarrassment of him spreading misinformation during the campaign about the
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