Undo spending-cut mistakes
--------------------------- ACT GREENS MLA DEB FOSKEY MEDIA RELEASE ---------------------------
15 Aug 07
Greens MLA Deb Foskey has called on the ACT Government to revisit last year’s calamitous attack on community services.
“Last year our social housing sector was laid waste on some unsubstantiated notion of national benchmarking, viable local schools which were the heart of healthy communities were closed down, or are being closed down, and Canberra’s public transport system was thrown on the scrap heap” Dr Foskey said today.
“This social vandalism was committed on the basis of a secret report (the Functional Review) which found the ACT was financially unsustainable without this tough action. After another year of record income, confirmed today, this secret report is shown to be wrong.”
“The ACT Government must now immediately halt plans to close schools, review its disastrous 2020 school destruction plan, commit to funding a viable community sector, rebuild the damaged relationships, and invest in an integrated public transport plan.”
“I know that there are still a lot of Keep Cook Open signs around Belconnen. If this government wants to demonstrate good faith with its electorate, in the lead up to the October 08 election, it needs to start there.”
“The communities of Hall, Tharwa, Flynn and Kambah would all benefit enormously from a bit more support from a government that has more income than it knows what to do with.”
“Furthermore, one of the best ways to tackle childhood obesity and cut greenhouse gases would be to re-locate schools so children can walk to them. So there is every reason to revisit those school decisions now” Dr Foskey said.
