Page 2334 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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against private bidders. While it is still early days, the results have been good. There has been much more cooperation between the various sections and departments than has previously been the case, to make sure that they win the business.
Such initiatives have been few and far between in the ACT Government Service. Our budget gap makes action on streamlining the administration imperative. These tasks are what the ACT's SES should be working on, not grandstanding. Finally, Mr Speaker, and the message can be taken, if key top public servants are not prepared to revitalise the public service, and so far some of them show no inclination to do so, I believe that we must replace them with people who are responsive to the social priorities in our community. I commend Ms Follett's Bills, and they will receive support from the Rally.
MR STEFANIAK (7.29): I understand that the Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation Committee has not had a chance to look at this Bill, naturally enough. Its legal adviser, Professor Whalan, has had a look and I am advised that he sees no problems whatsoever. I am not going to go over what other members have said in relation to this Bill, except to say that this is basically exactly what the Alliance Government would have brought in. It is a necessary Bill. It has to be brought in now. It is one of the main reasons why we are sitting today and, accordingly, it has the support of the Liberal Party.
MR MOORE (7.30): I accept the direction of this Bill and the need for it to go ahead. One point that I would like to make in addition to many of the comments made this evening is the notion that this Bill needs to come before the Assembly each year to adjust the rates. Each year we have seen it come here, the argument has been that we need to put the rates in line with the CPI so that there is no increase in real terms.
It seems to me that the logical way to go about it, therefore, is simply to pass one Bill that ties the rates to the CPI. This would also resolve the problems that Mr Kaine raised in terms of projecting what the CPI might be. If the rates were tied to the CPI and readjusted accordingly twice a year, or something to that effect, then, I think, we would have a much more sensible system and a system that does not require constantly coming back to this Assembly for reconsideration and the sort of misunderstanding that Mr Stevenson presented in suggesting that this is actually a rates rise.
Although in actual dollars it is a rates rise, if we took Mr Stevenson's approach, and looked back, there would have been no rates rises over the last 10 years. The CPI increase would have meant that the rates are totally out of kilter with expenditure. So, it is quite important, I believe, that rates be tied to the CPI if governments are to meet their financial and budgetary responsibilities.
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