Page 45 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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to it that the committee system becomes a pseudo-Government committee, rather than a committee of the parliament. In some respects the committee system that we have just left behind us was a very good system, because, again, it was able to express the will of the parliament; and that is always important. We must express that will of the parliament.
Mr Kaine: Well, you are still on all of them, Bill, they still will.
MR WOOD: Well, it is time that changed. I hope that you can resolve the difficulties that the Labor Party faces with the way the committees were rapidly restructured - too rapidly restructured - at the end of last year. People were put on to the committees who did not really want to be on them.
Let us look at the committees. I hope that soon you will be able to find the time, Mr Kaine, to talk to the Labor leader and come to arrangements about how the committee structure is to operate. Let us see to it - and I have some regrets about this and I have mentioned this to Mr Jensen, and I will say it again here - that Executive Deputies do not have a role in chairing committees where they have some Executive Deputy role, however ill-defined that may be. I have suggested to Mr Jensen that it is not really proper for him to chair the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee because he has some Executive Deputy duties related to planning. It would have undesirable connotations for the committee system if the Executive Deputy of planning runs the parliamentary planning committee - not the Government planning committee, if there ever is one of those.
Mr Jensen: It works for the Brisbane City Council.
MR WOOD: So that is something to give your consideration to. You mention the Brisbane City Council and, yes, I know that system, I lived near it; but that is a different system. It is like that collegiate system you want. You are wanting a bit of each system.
Mr Humphries: We are experimenting.
MR WOOD: Yes, you are definitely experimenting. Next you will go on and admit that, yes, there is an awful lot of trouble getting it together at the moment.
Mr Kaine: None at all.
A member: It is working quite well at the moment.
MR WOOD: Well, you had better convince your Speaker. He does not seem to agree with that, because he sees that there is considerable confusion about it. I went into the Self-Government Act further to see how your Executive Deputies might operate and you do have difficulties there.
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