Page 2880 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 June 2012
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there has been some disagreement between the mental health community sector and government about the exact model and scope of the project to go ahead. It is good that we do have this funding. We think it is necessary in the ACT to have this sort of facility, so that we do not have people being put into prison who should not be there. We know there is a high level of mental illness amongst people in the corrections system, and this may be one way of preventing people from ending up in that system and of seeing that they receive more appropriate care. It is important that we provide therapeutic environments for people so that they can rehabilitate, recover from their illness and return to the community.
I note that funds are being provided to improve the crisis support unit. We need to make sure that the concerns from the Hamburger review are followed up. I do welcome the funding for through-care. This is something that the Greens have talked about quite a bit during my term in the Assembly. Again, it is really important that when people are leaving the prison system the connections they have made with community groups are maintained after they leave. That will be absolutely vital to prevent reoffending.
Ms Hunter has already touched on the Greens’ thoughts on transport aspects of this budget. As she emphasised, sustainable transport is a key priority for the Greens and has been throughout this Assembly. Public transport, active transport and sustainable transport such as rail freight are matters that need a greater priority in government budgets, and this one is no exception.
For the past few years we have drawn attention to the disproportionate nature of transport budgets whereby we see a significant amount of money going towards infrastructure that is not related to public transport. When we compare it to other jurisdictions, we see that a greater amount goes towards walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure. This year’s ACT budget makes a fairly modest investment in transport capital works. We do recognise that this is partly due to the economic climate and the need to manage the deficit. It is important to realise that the limited spend on sustainable transport is due to a hangover from previous budgets, which leaves very limited funds for other new Territory and Municipal Services capital works initiatives in the coming year.
On this note I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to some of the good transport initiatives that were funded in the last budget but that have been lost. The city bus layover, for example, lost its funding. I believe that the need for this layover was first identified in the government’s greater Civic improvement plan. The Dickson bus station has also lost funding, although I assume that funding will now be accounted for in the Gungahlin-Civic transit project with the work that is going on there.
The Greens lobbied to have the Nightrider bus service made permanent. Now, for the first time, the Nightrider bus service will have three years of secure funding, something that will greatly improve the ability of people who are going out to travel home at night on weekends. We are very pleased to see that funding; it is something that we have pursued quite strongly.
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