Page 1162 - Week 04 - Friday, 23 April 2021
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MR RATTENBURY: I thank Ms Lee for the supplementary, because I forgot to address that point in the previous answer. In my comments, I have never suggested that this is the fault of the researchers. I have been quite clear in saying that the delay was at the government’s end. JACS had a very busy year last year. They did all the legislation for the COVID period. Ideally this would have been dealt with faster; I have never denied that, and I have never cast aspersions on the researchers. I know at least one of them, and I think they are excellent researchers. That is not the point that I have been seeking to make.
MRS KIKKERT: Attorney-General, will you apologise to family members of past victims for your political delay of this report?
MR RATTENBURY: I do not accept the premise of the question. I have been very clear that this is an important report that the government is going to follow through on. What the report does is, in quite a few of the recommendations, recommend further work. That work is now being prepared. The Justice and Community Safety Directorate is working with a range of other government agencies, including those that Minister Berry is responsible for, particularly the Office of the Coordinator-General for Family Safety, to work through the recommendations and identify the places where further research has been recommended. That is the work it has been doing.
What has been lost sight of here in the attempt to create some political mileage in this is that this was a piece of work commissioned by the government to review the act that the government brought in, to make sure that it was doing what was intended. It was initiated by the government. It is a government piece of work to help us make sure that we are having the best response to family violence that we can. That is what this work is about. That is why we are committed to following through on the recommendations. We sought them ourselves to make sure that we are doing the right job.
Government—business support
MRS JONES: My question is to the Chief Minister. Minister, last August you announced your government would establish a Canberra economic recovery advisory group to help businesses and create jobs. You said your government would hold an expression of interest process for two small business owners to join the group, opening on 31 August last year. The group’s first meeting was meant to be the following week. The cabinet summary, however, reveals that cabinet only endorsed the group’s appointments four months later, on 15 December. Chief Minister, did the group first meet on the week of 7 September as planned and, if not, why not?
MR BARR: Yes, it did. The composition of the group involves some appointments by me and then some members through the expression of interest process. Those that I could immediately appoint met with me in that week.
MRS JONES: Chief Minister, how many times has the group now met? Who are its members and small business representatives? What have they achieved?
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