Page 2977 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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MS SZUTY (11.14): Madam Speaker, I welcome the proposed establishment of a Select Committee on Budget Performance and Outcomes, which will report to the Assembly later in the year on the performance outcomes of ACT government agencies for the year 1993-94, having regard to information, including agency financial statements and annual reports. In fact, the establishment of this select committee is in line with recommendation 1 of the Select Committee on Estimates report that a further scrutiny process occur to take account of the earlier presentation of the Government's budget when less information about Government performance and management was available at that time.
Members will note from the terms of the motion - again, as the Chief Minister has pointed out - that a different constitution of the Estimates Committee is envisaged. At the time of the debate on the Estimates Committee report I noted the comments made by a number of members about the process this year. I would like to mention them now, as I was unable to do so at the time. But I will speak to them in the context of these terms of reference.
Mrs Carnell reiterated the views expressed in her media advice of 13 August 1994 that she considered the committee's report to the Assembly damning. Mr De Domenico expressed a view that estimates is also about politics. Mr Berry and Ms Ellis also referred to the political nature of the process this year - Mr Berry noting that the Liberals work the Estimates Committee process well, and Ms Ellis saying that some aspects of comments in the committee's report were political in nature. Other members who spoke during the debate saw the situation more even-handedly - Mr Moore believing that the committee's report in some instances can be seen to be constructive and in other instances can be seen to be damning.
The question remains, however: Who decides what is damning and what is constructive criticism? When I put the question to my colleague Mr Moore, after he had spoken in these terms, he said that he decided that question. That is all very well, but I wonder who else would agree with his view in every particular circumstance. Mr Cornwell noted that no additional comments or dissenting report had been prepared to accompany the committee's report. Mr Humphries made the point that every matter raised in the committee's report could be substantiated.
In summary, Madam Speaker, we had a range of views expressed by members of the committee about this particular matter, and it seems to me that that is an issue that all prospective members of this select committee will need to come to terms with. On the one hand, as a committee of the Assembly, like other committees, we can be seen to be non-political, working towards achieving results through consensus. On the other hand, we can acknowledge that we are all politicians in the process of assessing the ACT Government's performance. So, we are in a difficult position and perhaps it is not surprising that such a wide range of opinions exists regarding the role of the Estimates Committee.
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