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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 7 Hansard (19 October) . . Page.. 1852 ..

Mrs Carnell: You are questioning Richmond Fellowship. That is what you are doing.

MS McRAE: That is what you are doing. That is what Mr Stefaniak and you are doing. Mrs Carnell again tries to put a slur on what I am saying. I have nothing against Richmond Fellowship. They were the ones who did not have their papers in correctly. The tender documents did not check out, but that has now been fixed. I have nothing against the private sector.

Mr Stefaniak: What is the problem then?

MS McRAE: The problem is this: The bigger question that comes through is that raised by Burdekin - - -

Mr Stefaniak: You just do not want them to get it. It is ideological.

MS McRAE: Your problem is that you run a government that you call an open and consultative council-style government, but when anything is put before you for open inquiry by an Assembly committee you hide.

Mrs Carnell: It has already happened.

MS McRAE: It has not happened. Today is the first time I have heard some of the details of what was in Mr Stefaniak's head. It has not happened.

Mr Humphries: You chaired the Estimates Committee. You did not ask any questions about it.

MS McRAE: That was not a public inquiry into this particular process, and I find your interjection just ridiculous. The Estimates Committee yielded no answers that were satisfactory, which is why this issue has to be pursued. The bigger issue is that both the Burdekin report and the Allan Morris report raised some substantial issues of concern about these very children and the sorts of services that they need. Both the Burdekin report and the Morris report say that of - - -

Mrs Carnell: What did they say? They said that the children needed something to do during the day. That is what the reports say.

MS McRAE: Of course, Mrs Carnell, and you could have fixed that. You are simply fixing it on the cheap now. The Burdekin report and the recent Morris report said that government must retain some level of service that is run by government. I have not had put before me a single argument as to why this Government is walking away from that, why this Government does not consider the recommendations of Burdekin and Morris as being of any importance and how they will deal with those objections.

Mrs Carnell: We do, but the kids need something to do during the day other than hanging around Civic.

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