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(c) the value provided to the workforce and to the ACT;

(d) the costs of the current arrangements and the underlying reasons;

(e) the cost of possible alternative arrangements; and

(f) any other related matters.

(2) The Committee shall consist of 3 members, 1 member nominated by the Government, 1 member nominated by the Opposition and 1 other member. The nominations shall be notified to the Speaker in writing by 4 pm, Wednesday, 31 May 1995.

(3) The Committee shall report by 23 November 1995.

(4) If the Assembly is not sitting when the Assembly has completed its inquiry, the Committee shall send its report to the Speaker, or in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, who is authorised to give directions for its printing and circulation.

The motion seeks to establish a select committee to inquire into and report on the provision of workers compensation arrangements in the ACT Government Service, including Territory-owned corporations and statutory authorities. It is proposed that that committee consist of three members: One nominated by the Government, one nominated by the Opposition, and one other member. Mr Moore has indicated that he will nominate from amongst the Independents and the Greens. I certainly will be a nominee to the committee. The aim is to report by 23 November, although in my view it could be done earlier. However, that gives a broad reporting date and, if the Assembly is not sitting, the committee could report outside of a sitting period.

Mr Speaker, this committee of inquiry emerges against a history of agitation around the issue of workers compensation. Mr De Domenico has been, shall we say, a dogged inquirer into the efficiency of Comcare in the past, and past governments have been supporters of the Comcare process and their management. The Opposition does not have a fixed view about these issues. If it were shown that there was another sensible way to provide compensation coverage for members of the public sector, that would be something that I am sure the Opposition would be enthusiastic about.

We are committed to the provisions which apply in the Commonwealth Act. It has had a long history, and recent amendments have continued to update the legislation. We recognise that, in the context of the Commonwealth Public Service, this is a small outfit and it is a quite different outfit, if I can describe it as that, from that which applies generally in the Commonwealth. In the ACT there is a higher percentage of physical and technical grades and professional grades than exists in the Commonwealth. That means that there may well be an area that the inquiry could look into in terms of the adequacy of the coverage for ACT workers.

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