Page 16 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 12 February 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
that members of the Assembly - the elected representatives of the people of the ACT - had authorised an increase of the size of the Ministry.
Mr Berry: "Then I went on holidays".
MR KAINE: You have been on holiday for the last 14 months, so I would not speak too loudly if I were you.
I further advised the Prime Minister that, while I was very conscious of the need to restrain spending, I believed that the additional hands-on management that would come from the appointment of additional Ministers would produce savings for the ACT in the long run. It would certainly provide for better management at the Executive level. I commented that, even with two more Ministers, the members of the ACT Executive would each carry a much wider range of responsibilities than their counterparts anywhere else in Australia, including the Northern Territory.
Mr Speaker, I am pleased to advise that the Prime Minister has responded positively to my letter - contrary to the mean minds of the people opposite - and he has advised me that the Commonwealth has decided to amend the ACT (Self-Government) Act 1988 to end the involvement of the Commonwealth in determining the number of Ministers. He intends to introduce legislation this year to amend the Act to provide for the Chief Minister of the ACT to appoint up to five Ministers until such time as the ACT Legislative Assembly itself legislates for a different number. Mr Speaker, this means that the Assembly itself will in future make the determination. That is right and proper.
I think this response from the Prime Minister is indicative of the spirit of goodwill engendered by the Special Premiers Conference held in October last year. It is a demonstration of the willingness on the part of the Commonwealth, or at least the Prime Minister, to relinquish a State power hitherto retained by the Commonwealth in respect of the ACT. Members of the Assembly, I am sure, will applaud this outcome. Mr Speaker, I table the following papers:
Ministers - Number appointed -
Copy of letter from Mr R.J.L. Hawke, MP, Prime Minister to Mr T. Kaine, MLA, Chief Minister, dated 8 February 1991.
Ministerial statement, 12 February 1991.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .