Page 2001 - Week 07 - Thursday, 17 June 1993
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(6) the Committee is authorised to release copies of its report, prior to the Speaker or Deputy Speaker authorising its printing and circulation and pursuant to embargo conditions and to persons to be determined by the Committee; and
(7) the foregoing provisions of this resolution have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the motion that we have before us, I understand, is the result of consultation amongst the Independents and the parties in the Assembly, so I trust that it will have the support of members. By dealing with the motion today, we are allowing the Estimates Committee to make an earlier than usual start to the very valuable and extremely time consuming work that it undertakes. The motion before us is similar to that agreed to by the Assembly for the establishment of the Estimates Committee in 1992, and the motion again affords all members the opportunity to participate on the committee. I believe that that has been a valuable undertaking in past estimates committees and one that is worth perpetuating.
Mr Deputy Speaker, members will note from the motion that three members will constitute a quorum. I think that this will give considerable flexibility to members in deciding what issues they wish to pursue, rather than all members being compelled to attend the committee at all times in order to maintain a quorum. The main variation from the 1992 motion is the proposal that the committee be authorised to release copies of its report prior to the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker authorising its printing and circulation. Pursuant to embargo conditions, it may release copies to persons to be decided by the committee. Unlike the motion for 1992, the motion today does not propose a particular member as the presiding member. The position will be determined by the committee at its first meeting.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the motion to the Assembly. I do not think I need speak at length upon it. I would like to wish the Estimates Committee well in pursuing their very important and extremely detailed and time consuming task.
MS SZUTY (11.22): I, too, would like to make some brief comments on the motion for the establishment of the Estimates Committee this year. As Ms Follett has outlined, the motion is fairly similar to the motion which was moved last year to establish the 1992-93 Select Committee on Estimates. Ms Follett is quite right in that the motion does not nominate me as presiding member. I believe that that is unnecessary because of the agreement that I have reached with both the Labor and Liberal parties in this Assembly that I will be nominated as presiding member for this year's committee. I appreciate that gesture very much indeed.
I would like to draw members' attention to the need to nominate for the committee by 4 o'clock today and for members to lodge their nominations with the Speaker. I appreciate that this is a very short timeframe in which members need to lodge their nominations. However, I believe that it is important that we establish the Estimates Committee and begin our task as quickly as possible. I am hopeful that the 12 members who participated on the Estimates Committee last year will participate this year.
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