Page 3728 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2013
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To assist households and cushion the impacts of taxation reform, a number of concession schemes were introduced or provided in the 2012-13 budget—measures including expanding the home buyer concession scheme, extending the pensioner duty concession scheme, increasing the rates rebate scheme and expanding eligibility for the rates deferral scheme.
In respect of infrastructure, the government’s delivery of infrastructure over the past 10 years has been outstanding. Over the past 10 years, the government has delivered over $3.5 billion worth of infrastructure. Since 2005-06, approximately 90 per cent of ACT government capital works projects have been completed within five per cent of the original budget.
Key outcomes include improving the health system, including a women and children’s hospital and acute mental health and community health facilities; and an improved transport system, with the Gungahlin Drive extension, public transport infrastructure, renewing the bus fleet and maintaining our roads to the highest standards, with extensive improvements to cycling and pedestrian networks. There is infrastructure to service our unprecedented greenfield land development.
There is an improved justice system through the AMC, Bimberi and the youth detention centre. There are improved services to the disadvantaged, disability housing, renewed public housing and projects delivered under the nation building and jobs plan social housing.
There is improving our education system through building the education revolution, and new schools in new developments and existing communities, such as the Southern Cross School and Namadgi School. There is improved amenity with parks and playgrounds—the Manuka Oval redevelopment, the Gungahlin enclosed oval, Stromlo Forest Park, and upgraded urban sports facilities. And, of course, there are the wonders of our public art. Beyond the $3.5 billion invested in the projects I have mentioned, the government has delivered major infrastructure for utility services such as the enlarged Cotter Dam.
Fourthly, in health, emergency department performance in terms of national indicators has seen a decrease over recent years. This comes on the back of significant growth in demand for emergency department presentations. ACT public hospitals have changed significantly over the past decade. We are no longer functioning as a rural or medium-sized hospital; we are a hub for trauma and research and we deliver some of the best health services and care to residents in the country. Some of the problems in emergency service performance relate to an overwhelming increase in demand for inpatient services. This government continued to invest in more public hospital beds: our two hospitals will have over 1,000 beds by the end of 2013-14. We have invested in building on a bed base that had been previously stripped bare by the former Liberal government.
In 2012-13, we had the highest number of presentations on record, with over 118,000 people walking through ACT emergency department doors seeking treatment. This demand has continued in 2013-14. In August 2013, almost 11,000 presentations
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