Page 2272 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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I decided to avoid any unnecessary changes to departments or to administrative units, to ensure that the business of government progresses as smoothly as possible. The ACT Labor Government believes that it is of prime importance to ensure that services continue to be delivered with the minimum of disruption. The allocation of functions will allow maximum opportunity for ministerial attention to be brought to bear on the major problem areas facing the Government, and it will also eliminate some areas of duplication.
Mr Speaker, the ministerial portfolios are as follows: Mr Berry is Deputy Chief Minister, manager of government business, Minister for Health and Minister for Sport. He is also responsible for industrial relations in his capacity as Deputy Chief Minister. Mr Wood is Minister for Education and the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning. Mr Connolly is Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services. I am the Chief Minister and Treasurer.
Mr Speaker, there were some changes to portfolios and departments that I did consider to be unavoidable. I have created the Department of Health and the Department of Education and the Arts out of the former Ministry for Health, Education and the Arts. This change was long overdue. It allows Mr Berry as Minister for Health to concentrate on this important area. By creating a Department of Education and the Arts it has been possible to collocate primary and secondary education with TAFE, the Vocational Training Authority and the accreditation agency. Clearly, education in the ACT can only benefit from this change.
I have separated the Attorney-General's Department and renamed it to recognise our true status in legal matters. The title, Attorney-General's Department, describes those responsibilities more accurately than did the former Government Law Office. I also considered that youth affairs would benefit from a whole of government focus and, accordingly, I have transferred this function to my department.
The Tourism Commission has been transferred into my department. The economic development of the ACT and its region will be enhanced by a closer working relationship with the tourism industry. Finally, I decided to amalgamate sporting functions in the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning and have them report to Mr Berry. To bring sports management, grants and facilities together was long overdue, and I think that the ACT sports industry can only benefit from this move.
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