Page 4444 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 21 November 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
On every occasion when there has been an attempt to involve the community and this Assembly in a debate on what kind of policing we see as appropriate, it has been Mr Collaery who has led the charge to slam the door in our faces. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this entire process has taken place behind closed doors. No amount of frothing at the mouth by Mr Collaery can get over that fact. He has denied this Assembly the opportunity to scrutinise the arrangement. He has denied the community an appropriate opportunity to have its say on how it wants that $54m spent.
It is an enormous amount of money. I do not know whether it is the right amount of money or not. How would you know? We have absolutely no information on it or on what we are getting for that money. Mr Collaery says that there is a review of some type going on that will be done in December. That is the first I have heard of it. May I make a submission to that review? May my party make a submission to that review? May any of the community groups that I associate with make a submission to that review? I do not believe that they are even aware that it is going on; nor do I believe in any way that that review will be an open process - any more than any of the previous debate on this matter has been. It has been a debate conducted entirely behind closed doors.
It is a very major item of expenditure for the ACT and Mr Collaery has made much of his negotiating position with the Commonwealth. What negotiating position? They sent you the bill.
Mr Kaine: They gave us the money, too.
MS FOLLETT: I am totally unaware that there has been debate on whether that level of money is appropriate. Mr Kaine has commented that they also gave us the money. They did this time. For how much longer? You know as well as I do that they gave us that money this year because we did not even put up a fight on the quantum. I do not know what you said to them about the amount of money. They have given us the money, but there is absolutely no guarantee that we will get that same amount of money in future years. That is why members such as the Labor members and Mr Moore would like to have some sort of input into the negotiation, as Mr Collaery calls it - quite wrongly, in my view - that is taking place on the matter of law and order.
A further matter that concerns me relates to the effectiveness under the key performance indicators that are listed in the budget papers for law and order. It concerns me greatly that there is very little reference in those key performance indicators to the actual community which the law and order service is supposed to be serving. There is a passing reference in one of the key performance indicators, but surely the whole point of spending this $54m is to have a safe and pleasant community. We find that the performance indicators refer to the role of the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .