Page 1922 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 June 2015

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(a) sustainably manage the ACT Budget resulting in a deficit of approximately $408 million;

(b) manage its spending, resulting in increased taxes, rates and charges on ACT families and businesses;

(c) diversify the ACT economy after over 13 years in Government—noting the Chief Minister’s comment that the ACT economy has “turned the corner” in light of the recent Commonwealth Budget;

(d) deliver and provide transparency on its capital works spending, preferring to label these projects as NFP (not fit for publication) in its spending schedules; and

(e) deliver on its vision of City to the Lake, with its latest initiative at West Basin characterised by Western Australia Labor Senator, Glenn Sterle as “the beginnings of a detention centre”; and

(2) calls on the Government to detail to the Assembly before the ACT Budget is passed to disclose:

(a) its deficit reduction strategy;

(b) its plan to improve cost of living for ACT families;

(d) when conveyance duty will be fully abolished; and

(f) the full cost of the annual availability payment to the Capital Metro project.”.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Health, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Capital Metro) (10.45): I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate this morning, as the motion and the matter for debate is very much focused on priorities, on where this Labor government is investing in the services that Canberrans need.

First and foremost, of course, there is $1.5 billion in health expenditure in this year’s budget. That is the area of priority and focus. That is where taxpayers’ funds are overwhelmingly being committed, because that is the key priority for our city and our community. This Labor budget delivers $161 million in new health funding over four years to deliver better support, better services and better equipment for people in our community when it comes to health care.

That, of course, stands in marked contrast to the position of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party federally has ripped $228 million away from the ACT government budget in its failure to honour commitments to health and hospital funding. Those are the figures that Treasury have accurately estimated between 2014-15 and 2016-17. Those are the cost implications.

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