The Federal Budget was condemned in the ACT House of Assembly yesterday as “”the Betrayal Budget”.
In Question Time and in the Matter of Public Importance the ACT Opposition incessantly referred to the “”Betrayal Budget”.
The Leader of the Opposition, Kate Carnell, said. “”There were half a million people in Australia on training programs for jobs that do not exist. There were only two new jobs in federal Budget: one for John Button and one for Neville Wran.”
She said the Budget projected a loss of 5000 public-sector jobs in the ACT. She compared this to a press statement by the Member for Canberra, Ros Kelly, before the last election which bemoaned that Fightback would cost 4400 public-sector jobs in Canberra.
The Opposition finance spokesman, Trevor Kaine, said that the Treasurer, John Dawkins, having taken away jobs from 5000 Canberrans would also hit them with higher tax upon redundancy and put them into a world with higher taxes and imposts.
He condemned the extra wine tax’s effect on Canberra’s nascent wine industry. He said the ACT Budget would have to give relief from business imposts to make up for the imposts imposed by the Federal Budget.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tony de Domenico, said the “”socially just” Budget would make Canberrans on average $500 worse off.
“”The True Believers have become the True Deceivers,” he said.
The Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, said the budget had to be seen in a national context. The Premiers Conference had agreed on a fiscal outcome and the need to increase savings.
She said the Budget showed a commitment to Canberra with provision for the Museum of Australia; a portrait gallery at the Old Parliament House; the $19.4 million for restoration of Commonwealth assets and the $114 for the Australian Geological Survey Office.
People in the ACT would also benefit from extra national health and welfare programs.
In Question Time she said the Leader of the Federal Opposition, Dr John Hewson, had a slash-and-burn approach to Canberra. On federal Labor’s public-sector cuts she said the ACT should not get in the way of efficiency in the Federal Government.