Page 2387 - Week 11 - Thursday, 2 November 1989
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One thing that is clear is that the Estimates Committee has been a very large and exhausting process. I sat through most of the hearings, with the exception of a couple of portfolio areas, and found that very much the case, but nevertheless I believe it was a very worthwhile process.
However, it is not too much for the members of the Assembly to handle, and in my view it should continue basically in its present form for next year but with some changes and modifications that I am sure we will be able to assess and improve, as we should do with all things. Interestingly enough, the advantage it had for such a small Assembly was that there were 12 members of that Estimates Committee and it gave us access to a great deal of information and to each others' comments. To me, one of the most valuable things was that, when Mr Wood, Mr Humphries or Dr Kinloch were asking questions, I was able to understand their concerns.
In an overall oppositional sense, there was a certain feeling of sharing the questioning of the Government. Even if we had different views, we still had a sharing of the questioning of the Government. I think that all of us, as opposition members, have that responsibility to question and to check. We might come up with a different view in the end, but we still must question.
Of special interest to me were a couple of areas in education and transport, but particularly the cross-agency fees arrangements which have been commented on and which are part of the second recommendation. We should now see a reporting from Treasury on that section of the Appropriation Bill so that the Assembly knows what sort of moneys are transferred. I understand that this is a transfer that is not necessarily seen by Ministers and is very important for both the Ministers and the Assembly to know how money is being moved around because it seems to me that that could be a great formula for a snow job.
However, that is not to say it is not necessary. I am sure it is a necessary part of being able to transfer funds. It is just that we ought to know what is transferred. We have an insight, I think, and we are able now to approach the task of contributing to the government of the ACT. To me, that is what the Estimates Committee has given more than anything - that insight. If it means that we have to be selective in the information we absorb, then that is an inherent problem in a small Assembly and I accept that.
But as a group - and this is the point I am trying to emphasise - we have the chance to search for and discover the questions and the problems that Ministers and bureaucracy face and we are responsible for ensuring that they deal with them in the way that best suits the people of Canberra. Knowing this, we have had much more opportunity to test the Government and the bureaucracy. Hopefully, that will contribute to openness, frankness and honesty in future years.
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