Page 1466 - Week 05 - Thursday, 12 May 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The other matter that I wanted to look at also indicates a slowness of action. It has to do with comments about the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board. The Auditor-General noted in his report of June 1992 that there was a surplus of money in the board's account. In other words, it was collecting more money than was needed. Again I note that our report was one year later, June 1993. It noted:
The Committee was advised that the current timeframe is to have legislation drafted that could be introduced in early 1994.
The Committee notes that the matter is one for Government to consider and also notes that the issue is being addressed.
That was in June 1993. The committee was told that this legislation could be introduced in early 1994. The Chief Minister's comment in response to all of that was that she simply noted the committee's comment. I do not know when that response was tabled. I think it was quite recently. However, early 1994 has been and gone. Where is the legislation that it was indicated to the committee would be tabled in early 1994? We are almost into the second half of 1994. There has been no legislation to put into effect things that we were told would be done. They were issues raised by the Auditor-General during the year ended June 1992. The Public Accounts Committee was given an assurance, as noted in its June 1993 report, that something would be done. We are nearly into June 1994, two years later, and there appears to be no action.
One wonders just how effective these processes are, and one wonders just how serious witnesses before the Public Accounts Committee and other committees are when they give undertakings that things will be done. It is very easy to come before a committee and say, "We are fixing that and we will do it by a certain date". Unless you look back over your shoulder later, you could very easily discover that most of the things that the committees are told will be done are in fact probably not done. That says something about the response of the administration, and perhaps even of the Government, to commitments that they make in evidence to committees and in debates in this Assembly. We are told that things will be done, and it turns out that they are not done.
Madam Speaker, although this report is history - it is two years old now - it is very interesting to follow through some of the things that were raised in the report and reviewed two years later and see what happened about them. Generally speaking, the answer seems to be nothing. Members of this Assembly and members of the Public Accounts Committee and other committees of the Assembly ought to be very concerned about that. Perhaps all committee members ought to be reviewing things that we were told in evidence as long as two years ago to see whether or not undertakings are being honoured.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .