Page 4010 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 23 November 1993
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That, however, has not occurred this year with a number of the recommendations. I believe that it was just a little bit too much for some of our colleagues across the chamber to allow the spirit of cooperation that existed last year to continue this year. That may be a reflection, I suggest, of the change of leadership of the Opposition and the obvious change of style they have adopted since.
Madam Speaker, the Estimates Committee process is a process by which members of the legislature are able to call to account, as it were, the particular program areas of the budget and to have placed before them in as much detail as possible justification for expenditure on particular items of administration. That is a positive thing for the Government, for any government. An estimates committee functioning properly can provide great assistance to a government. When Mr Kaine was Chief Minister the Estimates Committee made a raft of recommendations in relation to providing a better focus for particular areas within his administration. Mr Kaine, with due humility as Chief Minister, accepted a great number of those recommendations, as indeed the current Chief Minister accepted recommendations of the Estimates Committee report which was tabled here last year.
This chamber has a very proud record of non-partisan scrutiny of the budget through the Estimates Committee process. Obviously, it is pretty hard for some people to resist having a press release printed up in the morning before they enter the Estimates Committee hearing, asking their question, racing out, distributing the press release and then disappearing for the rest of the Estimates Committee hearing for that day. I am not suggesting that that was done by members on the other side of the chamber every day, but it was fairly obvious that one or two members of the Estimates Committee certainly believed that that was the extent of their involvement with the Estimates Committee process. That was unfortunate, but, if that was what they wanted to do, so be it. I still believe that we came up with a fair degree of unanimity in our weighty tome, with a number of exceptions. Indeed, it is because of the stewardship of the - - -
Mr Cornwell: What is this "we"? You were in Japan when it was being written.
MR LAMONT: That is not correct. If you had attended the last two meetings, you would have been aware of that; but you were off doing something else.
Mr Cornwell: You were in Japan when it was all being worked out.
MR LAMONT: It was not you; it was somebody else. It is okay. You were not there; you were away - with the fairies.
Mr De Domenico: He did not have far to come back, though.
MR LAMONT: He never does. That is part of the problem. Madam Speaker, at the time that committee considered a number of these recommendations, the three Labor members indicated to the committee that, while we were not going to submit a minority report - and we determined not to do so more out of respect for the chair of the Estimates Committee than indeed - - -
Mr De Domenico: That was because you did not have the numbers.
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