Page 4924 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 26 November 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
audits carried out to a timetable that suited us personally; but the budgetary realities mean that that is simply not possible. I understand members' disappointment that some of the efficiency audits in which they are most interested will not be able to be carried out. I say again that it is the Auditor-General's decision which he carries out.
Mr Collaery made another strange imputation when he said that the Labor Government regarded the Auditor-General as "an antipathetic figure". That is quite untrue. I repeat that I expect the Auditor-General to be independent and to report fully and frankly; and he always has done. That was the case while I was chair of the Public Accounts Committee; it has been the case throughout the period we have been in government. I really do resent Mr Collaery's remarks because, quite simply, they are untrue.
I suspect that Mr Collaery has based his remarks on the fact that I have required a merit selection process to be undertaken for the permanent filling of the Auditor-General's position. I deeply resent the remark, and I must say that it is quite untrue to say that that action is in any way antipathy towards the current incumbent of the position. That is simply not true. I was very interested to notice that, in fact, Dr Hewson has recently come out to support me in my call for merit selection for these sorts of senior and very sensitive positions.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
ACT Treasury
Proposed expenditure - Division 50 - ACT Financial Management, $124,801,200 - agreed to.
Sitting suspended from 5.54 to 8.00 pm
Department of the Environment, Land and Planning
Proposed expenditure - Division 60 - Environment and Conservation, $39,295,600 - agreed to.
Proposed expenditure - Division 70 - Territory Planning, $4,279,200
MR JENSEN (8.02): Mr Speaker, I will make a couple of brief comments in relation to the lack of provision within this budget for the appropriate appeals process in the implementation of the planning legislation. I know that the Government has indicated, as we found out during the Estimates Committee hearings, that it does not propose to have the legislation commence operation until 1 July 1992. Of course, there have been some changes to that to require the Government to commence the operation of the legislation on 2 April 1992.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .