Page 780 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
these vital concerns. For its part, the Government will be providing further reports on related issues to the Assembly in the near future, particularly in relation to community policing and on the review of the Mental Health Act.
In conclusion, I am happy to be able to demonstrate that the Government has taken the issues raised in this report seriously, and to state that a number of the recommendations have already been addressed positively.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS - STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on Inquiry into the Priorities Review Board Review
Debate resumed from 13 December 1990, on motion by Ms Follett:
That the report be noted.
MR KAINE (Chief Minister) (8.44): I am responding to the report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on the Priorities Review Board review. That committee inquired into the conduct and processes involved in the PRB review and the costs involved in the use of consultants in that review. The standing committee made certain recommendations about the arrangements for and membership of any future inquiries; and, recognising that the manner of conducting an inquiry is for the members of that inquiry to determine and that certain documents will fall within that class of documents which are privileged or otherwise exempt, the Government agrees that records of meetings, including agenda and minutes, should be available to the public at the conclusion of future inquiries. The Government also agrees with the general thrust of the committee's recommendation that future wide-ranging inquiries include members who are representative of all major groups within the community, but notes that there will be occasions when a review or inquiry will require a specialist composition rather than a membership comprising representatives from all major community groups. The other recommendations about the conduct of future inquiries have been accepted.
The remainder of the committee's recommendations concern the use of consultants and the then draft guidelines for the selection and management of management consultants. While many of the committee's recommendations were implicit in the draft, members will be pleased to hear that they have been explicitly included in the final guidelines which have now been released by the Government and that they will also be included in the purchasing manual for use by the ACT Government Service officers, which will be issued shortly.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .