Page 705 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 July 1989
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public, I ask the Minister the following question: Is the budgetary consultation process that she is involved in with the public somewhat similar to the one that she is involved in with the Opposition - that is, that there is none? If the answer to that question is no, could she please tell me what community organisations she has in fact consulted in terms of the preparation of this year's budget?
MS FOLLETT: I have repeatedly said that the Government will operate in an open and consultative manner. We will be sticking to that. I think that the Government's approach to the budget is somewhat unusual amongst Australian governments that I am aware of, in that we will be involving the community to the greatest extent possible in its formulation. The process that we as a government have adopted has been to make information available as soon as it becomes available.
As far as the forward estimates are concerned, those forward estimates were provided to the Liberal Party on the day they were publicly released. I take issue with you on that, Mr Kaine.
Mr Kaine: Not so.
MS FOLLETT: It was a Friday night. You were not, I believe, in Canberra at the time.
Mr Kaine: At 7 o'clock on a Friday night? Come on!
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MS FOLLETT: I repeat, they were available to the Liberal Party on the day they were publicly released. The fact that you were not in town at the time, Mr Kaine, and that apparently there was no arrangement made for the forward estimates to be passed on to some other member of your party is regrettable, but it is something over which I had no control. But I repeat that the forward estimates were made available.
The next step in the process is the release towards the end of this month of the Government's statement of its broad budget strategy. We are in the process at the moment of developing that strategy. I have discussions with my fellow Ministers scheduled for later this week. We will be spending at least one entire weekend working on that strategy, and as soon as that strategy is in a suitable state to be released it will be released. I expect it to be when this Assembly reconvenes towards the end of July.
Following the release of the broad budget strategy, there will follow a period of consultation. It is the Government's intention that those consultations will be quite exhaustive and will involve representatives of business, the trade unions and the community generally. We are quite genuine in our desire to make those consultations meaningful. Having said that, I should note that I am
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