Page 384 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 21 February 1990
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made a rather feeble excuse as to why there is only one member of the ALP on any of the committees at present, and why that person has been the only ALP member for the last two months. I think that that point really needs to be emphasised. Indeed, Mr Wood is the only Labor member who has been on a committee, and the former Government has been in opposition since 5 December. In terms of the social aspects of policing, Mr Wood's Social Policy Committee is in a position right now to consider any of those aspects it so desires, to put its own terms of reference together and to look at those broad issues. As I understand it, it has done so on certain occasions in the past.
However, there is a problem in relation to the detailed nitty-gritty financial aspects and the previous Government actually started the process by which these are being looked at by departmental officers. As Mr Collaery indicated, negotiations are now well in hand. It is his intention as Attorney-General, and the intention of the Government, to keep the Opposition fully informed, and I understand a draft report is being prepared which should be available for discussion by the end of March.
Given that Mr Wood's committee can look at a large number of areas, and given that the financial ramifications are something that even the previous Government would agree are better left to these detailed interdepartmental discussions, what is the point of Mr Wood's motion? As Mr Collaery has said in his speech, further things can be further referred to the Social Policy Committee, if need be. The need for an additional committee, if that is justified, can be looked at further down the track, given that a draft report will be available, and that the Attorney-General has undertaken to have discussions with Opposition members. No doubt the contents of that report, which is to be ready by the end of March, will be indicated to them.
Why do we need an additional committee, as Mr Wood has stated? A number of matters point to not having that select committee set up, as Mr Wood has advocated. Firstly, the previous Government did nothing about setting it up. Secondly, a committee such as he envisages would have certain time problems in bringing down its report by 1 July. It is doubtful whether there is enough time for the committee to complete its task. The Attorney-General has also mentioned points in relation to the question of confidentiality, and that is another very important aspect which has to be looked at and which militates against a committee of the kind that Mr Wood would like to see.
When we talk about what sort of police force the ACT wants, a large number of factors come into play. There are a number of points which Mr Wood's Social Policy Committee can well look at, including the whole gambit of policing, the financial aspects, the type of police force that we want. We want a police force that relates to the community - an educated police force. Then there is the
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