Barr’s Band-aid Budget

 

The Labor-Greens Government has today handed down a band-aid budget to cover up 20 years of mismanagement and complacency.

Canberra Liberals Leader and Shadow Treasurer Elizabeth Lee said this budget is a critical one for the future of our Territory but all we have seen once again from the Labor-Greens Government is smoke and mirrors.

“This budget highlights the many failings of the Labor-Greens Government, now attempting to patch up issues after years of neglect and complacency,” Ms Lee said.

“The Chief Minister’s $5 billion infrastructure pipeline is a flashy headline but when you start to drill down into the numbers it is only a four per cent increase on what was promised last year. All the government has done is simply add an extra year to the estimates to make it look bigger and better on a four year basis.

“Hyperbole and announcements do not create jobs; we know this government is great at announcements but their track record of delivering on those promises has been lacking.

“This is highlighted by a massive $250 million underspend in infrastructure projects in last year which the Chief Minister attempted to blame on industry.

“There has been a chronic underfunding of skills and training in the ACT and in this budget, there is no material commitment to improving and boosting skills and apprenticeships to deliver on these infrastructure projects.”

“Once again we see very little for small businesses in the ACT who have borne the economic brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and need support immediately. There is no point in making big announcements if our small businesses do not survive to reap the benefits of those big promises.”

The ACT lockdown and the incursion of the Delta Variant into our Territory has exposed once again the failings of our health system, already under severe pressure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For a decade now, spanning three elections, Labor has promised a new hospital and an improved health care system, but it does not appear as though Canberrans will see either of those anytime soon based on this budget,” Ms Lee said.

“With our schools in chronic need of upgrades we once again see the government put forward a band-aid solution of demountable classrooms to help fill the void of overcrowding in our schools.

"Canberrans deserve much more than band-aid solutions from a government that is leaving so many in the community behind," Ms Lee concluded