Page 482 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992
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because the Commonwealth SAAP program provides a substantial part of the dollars, and the Commonwealth has an interest in ensuring uniform standards and acceptable standards for SAAP programs across Australia.
There would be an independent chair. I hope that, once we get the village representative and the residents' representative, we could get agreement on an independent chair fairly swiftly. I would not allow this process to bog down for months with bickering over who is to be an independent chair. The important point is that we wish to establish a steering committee which will allow both the residents and the company to have an input in developing the terms of reference for an expanded SAAP review.
Mr Cornwell: Pardon me, Mr Connolly. I do apologise. How many people were going to be on that steering committee?
MR CONNOLLY: As I said, we are looking at four. We are looking at a representative of the company, a representative of the residents, an ACT Housing Trust representative, a Commonwealth representative from the SAAP program and, we would hope, an independent chair, which would take it to five. But, as I indicated, there would have to be agreement between the residents and the company as to who would be an independent chair, and I would not be allowing any ongoing bickering over that to delay the process. I would encourage them to get together and pick a chair; but, if they cannot, we will go on in any event.
Mr Kaine: Can I suggest Greg Cornwell?
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Cornwell's impartiality is well known; but not for this role, I fear. I would expect this to be a fairly swift process. We do not want a mini royal commission; we do not want some process that is legalistic and drags on for weeks or months or years - and it is very easy for these things to go that way.
We want a process which can be seen to be impartial, which can be seen to answer the needs of residents who feel that they have some complaints that need to be aired, but which satisfies the needs of Ainslie Village management, who are equally entitled to defend themselves and have their reputation cleared of any allegations that may be made against them. We want something that will go through the overall program of the SAAP review process, which is to ensure that SAAP dollars are wisely spent and meet the needs of the persons they are meant to be directed towards and that will ensure that the persons who are meant to be the recipients of SAAP funds have a role in the way in which that money is spent.
That solution, Madam Speaker, I think, is one that members would find satisfactory and that allows a process to occur. It is possible to read from the document that has been circulated to members some sort of malice on my part in cancelling the review. That was never the case. The case, as was said to the Estimates Committee, was that the original consultant would return the brief. The process of trying to pick another consultant and draw up the terms of reference dragged on. When it got to late December last year and early January of this year, I took the view that it was more sensible to wrap it up in a single process as I have outlined to the Assembly today. I hope that answers the needs.
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