Page 1942 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2016
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Conservative governments, on the other hand, often turn their back on the big challenges of the day, and the new and emerging issues, pretending that the solutions being put forward are too hard, too expensive or too risky. You do not have to look too deeply into their budget commentary, and even into the budget decisions of their federal conservative colleagues, to know that what we have across the chamber over there is a party of great conservatism.
Here in the ACT, we pride ourselves on being a progressive jurisdiction, be it with our world-leading climate change targets and renewable energy achievements; our progressive values around equal marriage; our support for the most vulnerable in our community, including those on low incomes, those with mental health issues or those who are members of our LGBTI community; our access to abortion services; our adoption of a Human Rights Act; or our anti-SLAPP legislation that ensures that big corporations cannot use legal action to stop activists from protesting. This city has consistently acted on important issues.
It is often challenging, but as a committed representative of the Greens and also a member of a Labor-Greens government, I am proud of the work that I have contributed to this government and to its budgets.
This budget is the last in a four-year journey that was founded in the Labor-Greens parliamentary agreement. Successive budgets have given life to the many progressive and green initiatives that were laid out in that agreement: initiatives like renewable energy and emission reductions; light rail; and social housing. And there is the protection of our environmental assets, like the significant investment of around $80Â million in the Murray-Darling Basin priority projects in this budget to improve the water quality of our lakes and wetlands. This 2016-17 budget delivers even more from this agreement.
Over the past four years, I have taken the opportunity of the budget speech to discuss the fact that each of the budgets, had they been delivered by a Greens government, would surely have looked a little different. There are differences in the choices that the Greens would make compared to those of the Labor Party. But that is a strength of this power-sharing government: the different members of the government bring different priorities and perspectives, sometimes agreeing, sometimes disagreeing, but always focused on the best outcomes for Canberra.
So to the future. Let me comment on what this budget delivers and what it says about this Labor-Greens government.
Before I address the specifics of funding, I want to reflect on something that is generally not prominent in the budget but is about our future: climate change. Climate change was placed front and centre in the agreement the Greens made with Labor and has been fundamental to the government’s agenda. Climate change underpins much of what we are doing to plan for the future. Again, this contrasts to the approach of our conservative colleagues, who still favour the interests of big business and the coal industry.
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