Page 1897 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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to anyone on the outside due to the lack of information in the budget papers and annual reports.
I know that the government is in the process of creating a climate change analysis tool and I hope that this will be in use before next year’s budget. I also understand that a 2008 paper by the Community Inclusion Board stated that ACT Treasury had agreed to trial a poverty impact analysis in their examination of the management of debts to the ACT government. This was expected to occur in the near future, although I have not yet seen any evidence of this. I hope that this process is also underway.
We also have the unfortunate situation where we now have neither a women’s budget statement nor the inclusion of gender impact statements and gender disaggregated data as provided for in the parliamentary agreement. There is a trial underway in ACT Health and I hope that by next year’s budget we will have a comprehensive range of analysis tools that will have been applied to budget decisions.
There has also been a modest increase in the Auditor-General’s budget attributable to revised wage parameters. I note also that no efficiency dividend will be applied. The Greens believe that the Auditor-General is an essential accountability mechanism. We were very pleased to see that the external performance auditor found that the Auditor-General is providing an important service in an efficient and effective manner and achieving good value from the office’s use of the taxpayers’ dollar.
In regards to the revenue items outlined in this year’s budget, firstly, parking and bus fares are increasing, however, against a backdrop of increased investment in our public transport system, which needs to be paid for. We support encouraging a modal shift and providing people with other transport options that will help build a city where people can move around easily.
A significant revenue item change is the rectification of change of use charges. The Treasurer’s assessment is that this comes about because the current law has been erroneously applied and, as a result, those developing properties have been paying less than the legislation requires. We support the proper implementation of the law and believe land should be attributed an appropriate value that provides a fair return for the community whilst not providing an overly burdensome disincentive for increasing urban density.
On land release, I would like to repeat my caution from yesterday, that land is a finite resource and that the significant environmental impacts must be addressed properly from the outset.
I turn now to expenditure and specific expenditure items in this year’s budget on health and education. No doubt for most in the community, expenditure on health and education services is what most directly impacts on them. On education, it is a concern that the government’s response to two major reviews into parts of the education system, the Shaddock review on special education in the ACT and the review of school-based management, were not tabled prior to this budget as both had resource implications.
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