Page 3105 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 November 1992
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Mr Connolly: I would not like to try the flambe at Tony's place.
MR DE DOMENICO: Talking of flambe, Mr Berry is a political pyromaniac. Everywhere he goes he seems to light political fires. I know that some members opposite agree with that. Mr Connolly, I am not suggesting that you do, but perhaps that is so. Madam Speaker, I get back to the Estimates Committee report.
Mr Connolly: What a good idea! Let us get relevant.
MR DE DOMENICO: What I am saying is in support of what Mr Kaine had to say. But I will get back to the Estimates Committee report. I am delighted that the report expressed some concerns in the area of industrial relations, for example - another of Mr Berry's portfolio responsibilities, we believe. A question was asked of DELP, Mr Wood's department. Mr Townsend, someone that everybody in this house knows, especially Mr Moore, said that in one area of DELP there were 24 employees and about 19 unions at one stage. The Estimates Committee quite rightly said that there has to be some way of rationalising that. Mr Cornwell asked the question, but nobody could give the answer. These are the problems that the Estimates Committee report brought out. Hopefully, the Government will take the report into account when they supply information for next year.
Mrs Carnell quite rightly pointed out the deficiencies in Mr Berry's answers in the health area. Once again, that is not new and that is no great revelation. It happens every day in this place. Some very beneficial points were also made about the training in the ACT public service being looked at as a whole instead of in the piecemeal way that various departments look at it. The Estimates Committee report came out with some very interesting and valuable recommendations that, hopefully, the Government will take on board. For people to say that they were not given an opportunity to put their point of view is sheer nonsense. The majority of the members of the Estimates Committee decided to do certain things. If the three members of the Labor Party, ironically, did not or could not find the time to attend various meetings, that is tough bikkies. Every other member of the Estimates Committee was prepared to turn up at 8.30 in the morning. If this Assembly is going to wait until Labor Party members have the time to turn up to meetings, we will not get anything done.
I commend Ms Szuty. I commend Ms Malmberg and the other people involved in the secretariat in presenting the Estimates Committee report. At the times I was there I certainly learned a lot. As people are aware, Mr Westende, Mrs Carnell and I are new to this place, and I can assure Mr Berry that we will continue to put him and his Government under the microscope, whether in the Estimates Committee, on the floor of this Assembly, or through the media. I commend the report to the Assembly. I commend Ms Szuty for the wonderful job she did as chair. That is all I need to say.
MADAM SPEAKER: Members, with your indulgence, before the next speaker is called, I refer you to standing order 69(j), which is the one we use to grant people extensions of time. It states:
... with the consent of a majority of the Assembly, to be determined without debate, a Member may be allowed to continue a speech interrupted under the foregoing provisions of this standing order for one period not exceeding ... 10 minutes.
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