Page 4776 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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I would have thought that the Government would have done something a little more positive about that. The matter was brought to us by almost everybody who came before the committee to give evidence. It did not matter whether it was the parents and citizens association, the teachers, or the principals; everybody who came before us raised this as a major issue. I would have hoped that the Government would have done something more positive about it, rather than just put it on the backburner and hope that it will all go away. It is not going to go away, and I would ask the Minister to rethink the position on this. It simply is not good enough to compare ourselves on a per capita basis with New South Wales and Victoria and say that we are doing okay. We are not doing okay. Any additional positions, the Minister says, will have to be provided by a reallocation of existing resources. I suggest that the Government should be having a damned hard look to see where the resources could be reallocated from, and the sooner the better. I do not believe that there is not the capacity within the department to provide additional resources for that purpose. Mr Deputy Speaker, that is the one disappointing aspect of the Government's response, and I would ask the Minister to review that matter as a matter of urgency.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS - STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on Review of Auditor-General's Report No. 3 of 1993
Debate resumed from 21 October 1993, on motion by Mr Kaine:
That the report be noted.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (11.04): I would refer members to the Government's previous response to report No. 6 of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. That report covered the areas of debt recovery operations and what were termed publicly unaccountable Government activities. Our response outlined the action that would be taken in regard to the issues raised in that report. I would like now to take the opportunity, fairly briefly, to update the Assembly on the progress that has been made in regard to these issues.
Firstly, in relation to debt recovery operations of the ACT Revenue Office, Mr Deputy Speaker, the PAC, although they were satisfied that the Revenue Office was effectively collecting the Territory's taxes, did recommend that an independent review be carried out to determine the appropriate staffing level for the recovery operations of the office. The Government at that time did not consider that an independent review would be appropriate, because the Revenue Office had commenced its own internal functional review aimed at improving the efficiency of the office. Mr Deputy Speaker, that functional review is progressing and it will take into account the Government's recent decisions in relation to the review of the current rating system. The rating review covered not only valuation methods but also the billing and payment arrangements, which directly affect the recovery operations of the Revenue Office.
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