Page 2725 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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The sustainability measures we want to see in the budget are necessary to give us an indication of how well we are going to be meeting our strategic vision for a sustainable Canberra. Are the budget measures taking us in the right direction? Are they fulfilling our combined economic, social and environmental objectives?
The ACT Greens look forward to seeing sustainability measures in the next budget as well as the long-awaited triple-bottom-line assessment tools. I am very pleased to have heard the Chief Minister get up in question time and embrace this approach on triple-bottom-line assessment and reporting.
In agreeing to support this appropriation for the Chief Minister’s Department, we are mindful of the responsibilities of the department in relation to major projects, in particular the priority project of coordinating the ACT’s nation building and jobs plan projects in the current economic climate. The funding associated with the nation building and jobs plan and the last two appropriation bills represents a great opportunity for the ACT to rejuvenate our education and social housing infrastructure.
There is a need, however, to keep the Assembly and the public informed through regular, detailed reports of progress. I note that the government has agreed to recommendation 26 of the estimates report, which states:
The Committee recommends that the Coordinator General provides a quarterly report to the Assembly on progress of the Federal Nation Building stimulus package projects.
So I look forward to seeing those quarterly reports when they are tabled in the Assembly.
Another issue that I would like to raise is the Community Inclusion Board and the moving of resources from the community inclusion fund. Community inclusion fund resources were moved to the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services. We have heard, last week particularly, that the fund is ending as of 30 June. A number of these projects have been picked up by departments in their recurrent funding. There are still a few outstanding and we are certainly pushing that these few projects also have that continued funding. The Gugan Gulwan literacy and numeracy project and the multicultural youth services are a couple of examples.
But I want to spend a little bit of time on the Community Inclusion Board. This was, I believe, a very important board that played an important role in the ACT and I am a little concerned that the board will be closing. I note that, in the tabling statement from the Chief Minister today on the implementation of the Canberra Plan: towards our second century, if you actually go to page 15, it talks about action 29 of the ACT climate change strategy and how the ACT government and the Community Inclusion Board worked together in a partnership to undertake a social impact analysis of the effects of climate change on low income, disadvantaged and vulnerable ACT residents. And there was some good research that was undertaken. The findings of this research were discussed and then advice was put forward.
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