Page 2916 - Week 13 - Thursday, 23 November 1989
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ACT Bush Fire Council
MRS NOLAN: My question is directed to the Minister for Housing and Urban Services. Given that the previous Bush Fire Council's term expired on 28 October, what is the Minister doing to expedite the appointment of the new council? What is the legal position of bushfire fighters and controllers carrying out their duties without a council in existence? Will the Minister guarantee to this Assembly that the appointments will be made forthwith so that urgent planning and policy matters may be dealt with before the onset of the expected extreme bushfire season?
MRS GRASSBY: I thank Mrs Nolan. Before I start I would like to say that, when a bushfire does start out, the fighters do not rush to the council to ask how they should fight it; there are already policies in place for fighting bushfires. So the fact that the council has not been appointed has nothing to do with bushfires breaking out. As I told you yesterday - and I will repeat the answer - I have put to Cabinet the names and will announce in the coming week exactly who will be on the Bush Fire Council. This will be after the people who are going to be on it are informed. Legally we do not need the council in order to fight fires.
Education Budget
MR KAINE: I direct a question to the Minister for Industry, Employment and Education. This morning we completed the debate on the budget. Over recent weeks, since the initial budget was announced, there has been a lot of toing-and-froing in the Education Department about whether your announced cuts were going to take place or not. I understand that you have backed away from making some of the cuts that you originally said you were going to make. Just how has that affected the bottom line of the education budget? If it has affected it, why was there no change in the budget that we have just finished debating, compared with the original one that was put to the parliament?
MR WHALAN: The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question in relation to the education budget but has made no specific reference to any specific item. In the circumstances of that, it is impossible to respond. I know that the Leader of the Opposition will jump to his feet and say, "This is once again an example of the Government not answering one of my serious questions", but in fact it is a fatuous, empty question. It has no specific details - - -
Mr Kaine: I take point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister is quite right; I am going to jump to my feet and claim that he is not answering the question. The Minister said, after his budget was released, that he was going to make cuts against the budget of the order of some $5m, and he
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