Page 1460 - Week 05 - Thursday, 13 May 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR STEVENSON: That is a neat bit of shuffling. Mr Berry's statement that the Labor Party has won - - -
Mr Connolly: Is as one.
MR STEVENSON: All right, I will leave that aside. He says "is as one". It sounded like "has won", and that was what he was talking about at the time. I suggest that you make it clear. The suggestion that the Labor Party will go on their road regardless of what this Assembly decides is unfortunate.
Mr Connolly: No, we will have an inquiry. If the Assembly decides it, we will have one.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Connolly says that if the Assembly decides to have an inquiry we will have one. I said that it is unfortunate that Mr Berry's position is, basically, that we are going down a particular road and that is what is going to happen and so on. So, rather than a situation where anybody wins, we should have a situation where we all win, particularly the emergency services, on behalf of all Canberrans. Let us look at the committee inquiry. Let us look at the situation where everybody has an opportunity to present their viewpoints to an independent inquiry. If the inquiry is independently chaired and the members of the inquiry are independent, that can make the difference. That can finally allow the situation to be resolved for good. There is no doubt that resolutions are needed. There has been a taint on some of the decisions that seem to be illogical. If they are, that will be resolved. If they are not, there will be sufficient opportunity to explain why they are proposed.
One of the difficulties that face the emergency services and people in Canberra is that State-like government was forced on us. That has changed the financial arrangements. The inquiry will give us an excellent opportunity to look at making the most of the more limited funding that we are to have in the ACT. I think that the inquiry is timely. Provided that it is independent, it can do the job. It will give all people concerned, and the public, as well as members of the Assembly, the opportunity to present their views and to have them heard in an independent manner.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.49), in reply: Madam Speaker, in rising to close this debate I am gratified by some of the comments members have made. I think they indicate that, notwithstanding the words of the Government and the Ministers who have spoken, there is a feeling of disquiet about the direction in which we appear to be heading with the latest round of amalgamations or the latest change of status in some of our emergency services. There is a feeling that there needs to be some impartial, independent outside view of what is proposed in this particular area. I think that must be seen in a broad context. It cannot be seen as an inquiry into just one element of our emergency services in the Territory. Clearly these services are interrelated. They operate in a highly dependent fashion, one on another, and in those circumstances it is essential that any inquiry take into account all emergency services in the Territory. There has been some confusion about whether we are talking about one thing or another or about particular services. We certainly have some concerns about particular services, but they must be broadly placed in the context of all emergency services in the Territory. That is why this motion is drafted as it is.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .