Page 1878 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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Mr Hanson: Massive new tax, Katy.
MS GALLAGHER: There you go. I have got a bit of inside running for that on the book now thanks to Mr Hanson. For example, if you look in the 2008-09 budget where we predicted revenue in the order of $3.4 billion for the 2009-10 year, the actual budget—and yes, I am withdrawing the commonwealth stimulus out of it—3.231.
Mr Hanson: You cannot do that and declare that you have got a surplus this year.
MS GALLAGHER: It is not. It cannot be included in the base because it could not be used for anything. We were a letterbox for commonwealth money coming through to schools and housing. You cannot ignore that there are several hundred dollars off our base from what we were expecting and we have had to ride out that storm. Our economy—(Time expired.)
Health—promotion grants
MS LE COUTEUR: My question is to the Minister for Health and concerns the government’s health promotion grants. Minister, I understand that a strategic review of the health promotion grants was undertaken last year and that the consultancy body was required to provide a report to ACT Health by October 2009. Can you advise the Assembly what the results of the review were and when the review will be made public?
MS GALLAGHER: I will have to take that question on notice. I certainly have not that I can recall, and I will check, seen any recommendations around that report or any that would change the health promotion grants as they exist at this point in time. There are grants for about $2.1 million from memory. I will certainly chase it up but I cannot recall seeing the report or the review.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Le Couteur?
MS LE COUTEUR: Minister, what consideration has the government given to increasing the amount dedicated to health promotion grants?
MS GALLAGHER: We do consider it; it is part of the budget process every year when we look around allocation of funds in health. I have to say that I think a $2 million grants round is pretty generous. I think it is perhaps the most generous grants round that exists across the ACT government. It is always oversubscribed, I have to say, in terms of the applications coming in, but it is one part of the health promotion and prevention program within ACT Health.
We have a number of other programs, and they do receive budget funding. Some of the money in the mental health allocation will go to this area. In terms of some of the chronic disease management, again, some will go into promotion, raising awareness, education and looking at how we can support change for those who are already living with a chronic disease.
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