Page 1875 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 June 2014
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I am pleased that the government shopfront in Gungahlin is being progressed; it is set to open early next year. This is an item from the 2008 parliamentary agreement which has been in the pipeline for a while and is now coming to fruition in conjunction with a new ACT government office building in Gungahlin.
Funding is in the budget to deliver the common ground project, which will support some of the most vulnerable people experiencing chronic homelessness by offering them a home that will support them to end the cycle of homelessness. This project is bricks and mortar, is concrete and real, and is far more substantial than the uncertainty that the commonwealth is creating in this space.
Finally, I would like to touch briefly on the funding for corrective services. While the need for more accommodation at the jail is real, it is just one part of the government’s response to growing detainee numbers. The new focus on justice reinvestment, with $689,000 over four years to develop the new strategy, means that we are looking at the whole picture—focusing on a holistic package, with a collaborative long-term approach to reducing recidivism both inside and outside the actual jail itself. I firmly believe that this is our only hope of achieving real change in the justice system. It is of note that even the significant amount of money allocated to fund the increase in the size of the jail is not just about increasing the jail’s capacity; it is money that will improve staff and detainee safety, a critical objective for any correctional facility. It will also deliver better outcomes in regard to detainee rehabilitation by providing for a dedicated special care facility and increasing corrections’ ability to effectively move detainees between programs.
This is a budget that has responded thoughtfully to the context that we here in Canberra find ourselves in. Under difficult circumstances, it contains care and concern for the people of Canberra. It also takes a long-term view for building investment and confidence in our city. It is a budget that seeks to tackle some of this city’s big issues while focusing on what the community need right here and now in their suburbs, in their streets. It is a budget that builds momentum towards a progressive, exciting and diverse future for the people of Canberra. I look forward to voting in support of the budget.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lawder): Before I call Mr Smyth, I understand it is the wish of the Assembly to debate this bill cognately with executive business order of the day No 5, Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2014-2015. That being the case, I remind members that in debating order of the day No 4, executive business, they may also address their remarks to executive business order of the day No 5.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (3.39): The government must clearly be very fond of the Abbott government because I note that for approximately the first time in seven years Mr Barr and his colleagues have something else to blame besides the GFC for their economic mismanagement. It would appear the federal budget is now the flavour of the month. Indeed we had a wonderful expose, apparently, for most of Mr Rattenbury’s speech, of the ills of the federal government.
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