Page 1547 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 2 May 1990
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I will give you an example. One unresolved aspect is whether we go into an individually itemised billing relationship for police functions - that is, the Commonwealth bills us for this function and so many man hours - or whether we have a separate appropriation process, so that the AFP identified police element would prepare its estimates and present them through government in the usual way that any departmental head presents estimates for a branch. That is the preferred position of this Government.
As a further illustration of the progress made to date in this area, I can inform the house that the Commonwealth has tentatively proposed - nothing resolved yet - that it absorb permanently or pro tem the indirect costs of having the Australian Federal Police force in the ACT. In other words, we will pay the salaries of our police officers in a number of situations - superannuation aspects are being resolved at the moment - but the shared costs of having headquarters staff and other arrangements may well mean that there will be an indirect contribution by the Commonwealth. The advice is that the negotiations are proceeding smoothly and constructively, and interesting outcomes will result.
Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I intend to table some reports giving an example of the effective de facto relationship between this Government and the Assistant Police Commissioner, AFP, who is detailed in separate premises already, discretely, to take over ACT policing. A large variety of reports come through. For instance, one that is of topical interest is the report on the use of the police move-on power; I will table that. But, more importantly, we need to have a community police force. The police are currently conducting a survey to monitor community policing needs. I am very happy to table the survey and advice that I have received from the Assistant Commissioner of Police. I will do that shortly.
Financial arrangements for policing are critical, and I expect that the Chief Minister or another speaker will address those issues. I am in no way being non-consultative on these issues. Mr Moore laughs. (Extension of time granted)
Given the Federal election period and the way these negotiations proceed, I do not believe that I can bring along 40 good citizens to sit in on the working parties' discussions. As Mr Berry would appreciate, a number of discrete and necessary industrial relations negotiations are going on as part of the package. I assure the house that I am satisfied with the progress of the working parties to date in this matter.
The aim is to secure the police by 1 July, and it will significantly assist negotiations if the Commonwealth gets a clear message from this Assembly that it is keen to have
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