Page 1893 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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have been arguing that we need to reassess how we use those resources and make more strategic decisions about how we position ourselves for the future. We must all be very conscious that more than ever the choices we make now will have an enormous impact on our future prosperity. Business as usual will not provide long-term prosperity—in fact, quite the opposite.
The Greens’ view is that the budget should deliver services for the community, protect the environment and ensure that we all have the opportunity to prosper. To do this we must start to address the challenges before us and recognise the structural changes to the economy that will happen as a result. Preparing our economy for the consequences of climate change, increased population and ageing must be the key aim of our fiscal policy.
We are pleased that the government has adopted some of the Greens’ policies and initiatives, particularly the new focus on public transport that the Greens have pushed for so long now. There are also positive community programs and initiatives within this budget that the Greens strongly support.
However, as I said last year, we need to look into the longer term and consider how we will position ourselves for the challenges ahead of us. Well into the economic recovery, we now need to ensure that we take advantage of the recovery and better economic times so that we are insulated against the impacts of any future economic downturns. We also need clever, targeted investment in initiatives that will deliver positive environmental, social and economic outcomes for Canberra.
This budget includes a number of Green initiatives from the ALP-Greens parliamentary agreement that will now be implemented. The measures that we have pushed for represent value for money—small but efficient initiatives that will achieve results and make a practical difference to the people of Canberra: the continuation and extension of the Redex bus service, new park-and-ride facilities, money for swim schools, an increase in mental health funding, a small increase in the purchase of renewable energy, and a feasibility study for the Gungahlin shopfront. Also we are pleased to see a small increase in the energy concession rebate for low income earners and the protection of the community sector from the efficiency dividend—two initiatives we argued for here in the Assembly.
The ACT Treasury summary of economic indicators for March 2010 is quite positive. Everyone is in agreement that we are in a much better economic position than we thought we would be this time last year—consistent growth; low unemployment; a strong housing and construction industry; relatively strong business confidence; and, according to one assessment, currently the best performing economy in the country. All of this means that we are well placed and enjoying a good level of prosperity in what would have otherwise been difficult times.
In April, the Reserve Bank of Australia indicated strong growth in nominal incomes throughout the year and a return to trend levels in a number of indicators. Overall, the assessment was positive and the decision to raise interest rates reflected positive forecasts. However, the RBA did indicate in the March 2010 financial stability review that “Significant challenges and uncertainties for the global financial system remain.”
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