Page 1314 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 2012
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We make no apology for targeting additional services to those in our community who are most in need. Those services include our world-class healthcare system, with exceptional levels of care and capability in the Canberra Hospital and at Calvary. They include our exceptional education system, from preschool and primary right through to our great higher education institutions. They include our responsive justice, policing, emergency and municipal services that continue to meet the needs of our community. This includes children and young people, those with disabilities, the elderly and lower income households.
The ACT has the best schools in the country. Our young people achieve the highest educational outcomes. We have the highest apparent retention rate from year 10 to year 12 for full-time secondary students in public schools, and the highest year 12 completion rates. The government’s continuing investment in vocational education and training is showing good results. We have the highest proportion of government-funded VET graduates who were unemployed prior to their training who now find themselves in employment or taking further training after completing their course. We have seen in recent days that ACT universities have recorded record levels of student enrolments. This protects our innovative and productive workforce and will provide skilled and productive jobs into the future.
Our world-class health services and our state-of-the-art facilities provide better access and improved patient outcomes. This all contributes to Canberrans being amongst the healthiest in the country and having the longest life expectancy. These improved health outcomes mean that more time can be spent engaged in productive activities. It means more time employed, more time with family and friends and more time engaging in leisure activities.
This government has provided additional funding for more hospital beds, more elective surgery operations, more outpatient services, more health facilities, more doctors and more nurses. In addition, emergency departments, elective surgery, mental health and community care services have all been improved. Funding for sport and recreation has increased; of any jurisdiction, we have the highest level of participation in sport and recreation.
We have a prosperous economy backed by solid economic fundamentals, as well as infrastructure to meet future demand for services and a sustainable, liveable environment. This high standard of living is backed by high quality services, and it is something the government is committed to protecting.
MR SPEAKER: Ms Porter, a supplementary.
MS PORTER: Treasurer, can you indicate how investment in quality services can generate economic returns for the territory and further support our standard of living?
MR BARR: High labour force participation rates fuel our economy and are supported, of course, by higher than average wages. The individual effects are there; meaningful employment is critical to a person’s self-esteem. While the government provides
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