Page 4745 - Week 15 - Thursday, 16 December 1993
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drift when that suits her purposes. I want to refer to a few paragraphs from the Auditor-General's report which was tabled only today in the Assembly which I think point up some of those problems. The summary of issues raised in this report on page 2 makes a few points of some interest. It states:
The amount of the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board's investments and the level of income being generated indicate that that Board continues to have more than sufficient funds to meet its current and future legislative obligations.
Mr De Domenico: When was that said?
MR HUMPHRIES: That report by the Auditor-General was tabled today. He said that there is a problem with having too much money in that pot; that we need to do something about it. Ms Follett is the Treasurer. Where was her action on the obvious lack of action on the part of her own Minister responsible? I think it must have been Mr Berry. Where was the action on this matter? Unfortunately, it was not present. Some things, unfortunately, are within Ms Follett's own bailiwick. Almost $1m of funds provided by the Commonwealth for the NEIS program, an employment program, remained unspent as at 30 June 1993.
Mr Kaine: Yes; that is their contribution to helping small business - $1m underspent.
MR HUMPHRIES: Exactly. Here in a central program about employment, about creating jobs, $1m is unspent. On past spending patterns that amounts to two years' expenditure. The ACT Government's unfunded superannuation liabilities at 30 June 1993 were approximately $196m. That is a $43m increase from the amount estimated at 30 June 1992. That is a bit of bad news, Madam Speaker, and I am afraid that the problem lies squarely at the feet of the Chief Minister and Treasurer.
There has been a certain sense of drift in this Government which is best characterised by the words of Mr George Snow when he resigned from the Economic Priorities Advisory Committee earlier this year:
... I believe that the ... Committee ... had the possibility of an effective role in advising Government, of improving its fiscal position, but its advice has been ignored and I see no reason why I should continue to commit time and enthusiasm to a cause that is no longer considered relevant by the present Government. Why talk if no-one listens?
They were the words of a prominent member of the Economic Priorities Advisory Committee who resigned earlier this year.
In the area of economic management, Madam Speaker, I am afraid that the report card is not too good. Let us look at the course of this year. Redundancies worth $17m were budgeted for in the ACT budget. That might seem not too bad, unless you contrast that with statements by the present Chief Minister that she thought that 400 positions and $6m being cut in 1990 when Mr Kaine was Chief Minister was "bad news hidden very deep in Mr Kaine's budget". She talked about the then Treasurer being sacked for that kind of decision. What can we say?
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