Page 2779 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 June 2012
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We in the ACT Labor Party will always put our community first and, in particular, Labor will always look after those most vulnerable. The government’s budget creates the conditions and lays the foundation for an even more prosperous, fair and sustainable city as we head into our second century.
This is a challenging time for the ACT economy. Some of these challenges are recent, and some are more familiar of late. First, let us start with the well known. The global financial crisis hit the global financial markets hard. The effects are still being felt across the globe. European debt crisis is ongoing. China is slowing its growth rate to adjust to a different world than pre GFC.
This challenge is acknowledged by everyone, except perhaps the Canberra Liberals. It took them a very long time to recognise that there even was a global financial crisis and even when they did, their view was that the government should cut services. As the Treasurer said yesterday, we have seen the effects of austerity and they are terrible, devastating for economies, devastating for societies, devastating for families.
Now we have to talk about the commonwealth budget and the effects on Canberra. We have spoken many times about the impact that the commonwealth government has on this town. It provides stable employment for many and it supports a good deal of economic activity.
As a brief aside, it was a surprise recently to hear the Canberra Liberals talk about public servants. It seems to be the first time they recognise the importance of these jobs to Canberra families. I welcome the new-found interest of the Canberra Liberals. It was nice that they finally stopped playing petty politics and talking down Canberra in this area, at least. The government has always talked up Canberra. So it is nice for the Canberra Liberals to join us in recognising the important role of our public servants and the importance of their job, although, as we heard this morning, not all public servants’ hard work is recognised or appreciated by those opposite.
The government has always acknowledged there are risks from commonwealth budgets. The commonwealth government chased a surplus for 2012-13 and got there, but that has caused an impact on Canberra. In this environment, this government has shifted its surplus target back to the original date of 2015-16. This is the right decision for our community because it will let us respond to challenges without risking unnecessary damage to local confidence, local business and local jobs.
As the Treasurer said, good governments do not pursue policies which have been shown to fail and which could have negative impacts on households, in this case, knee-jerk austerity. I agree with the Treasurer that cutting at a time of challenge deepens the contraction, it does not support growth, it destroys jobs, businesses, families and communities. Labor will continue to invest in front-line services which our community deserves and expects. The Labor government is protecting front-line services because they are delivered to all Canberrans and, as you see, this special focus is on targeted assistance to the most vulnerable in our community.
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