Page 3316 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 September 1994
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MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. I draw the Minister's attention to his answer. When he answered he said that we should look at the second column on the other page because the whole column sets out the ACT Government initiatives, and he even turned over the page. I draw the Minister's attention to the paragraph starting "Other initiatives by the ACT Government". It talks about the 2020 study. Would the Minister concede that over half of that column is actually the initiative taken from the cornerstone of the Michael Moore Independent Group policy - and there are many who concede that - and forced on this Government by the Assembly following a motion by Ms Szuty that established the 2020 study? Will the Minister be gracious enough to concede that in the same way as I conceded at the beginning of my question what he had achieved?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I do not know that the Michael Moore Independents have a copyright on the 2020 study. Let me indicate that it was passed through this Assembly on a motion, as I recall, of Ms Szuty. She proposed that motion, it was readily accepted by all members in this Assembly and has been enthusiastically taken up by the ACT Government. I do not think there is any dispute about that. I have never disputed that - for Mr Moore's benefit - and we are continuing our work in that respect. I think it is clearly the case in this Assembly that there is an acknowledgment that the Government has given a very high priority to environmental issues. We have taken a whole string of measures that will be further elaborated today, and I do not think anybody can dispute that, Mr Moore.
Government Service - Overseas Travel
MR CORNWELL: Madam Speaker, I am comforted that both the Public Accounts Committee and the Department of Public Administration are establishing guidelines, as the Chief Minister advised in this particular case. However, it would only have to produce an atlas. Why did departmental officers, Chief Minister, explain to the Government Audit Office that travel to New Zealand was to be treated "for approval purposes as domestic travel"? I ask whether your Government needs a lesson in geography and whether in fact you are going to give an apology to the New Zealand High Commission. But what excuse can you give for such sloppy management practices and, I suggest, liberal interpretation of domestic travel across the ACT public service? Will you be tightening up on those overseas travel approvals?
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, if I am being asked for an opinion on how officers made that erroneous judgment, I am afraid that I am not in a position to give such an opinion. They were clearly in error and, as I have said on many occasions in the course of this question time, matters to do with travel, with allowances, with acquittal of those allowances will be taken up as a matter of urgency by the Department of Public Administration and addressed on a Government Service-wide basis.
MR CORNWELL: I have a short supplementary question, Madam Speaker. I do not know whether you caught the last part of my comment, Chief Minister, but will you be prepared to tighten up on these overseas travel approvals?
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