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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 10 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 2780 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

With the many problems in the planning system, the temptation to point the finger at so-and-so and say, "It is your fault", or whatever, is perhaps a strong one but one which none of us should succumb to. The fact is that the planning legislation was the product of the work of two governments - the Alliance Government and the succeeding Labor Government. Indeed, it was very much a product of the whole Assembly's input. The planning problems are the responsibility of all of us, in terms of our authorship of them and our need to resolve them collectively. Perhaps the only party we can truly point the finger at and accuse without fear of response is the Residents Rally, which was responsible for a great many amendments to the planning legislation in 1991. It seems to me, from my point of view, that a great many of the problems in the Land Act at the moment relate to particular amendments moved by Mr Jensen.

Mr Speaker, I hope that we can correct some of those problems and make a number of attempts to refine the system. It will not, of course, solve the problems. I acknowledge that freely, as Mr Wood and Mr Moore have; but I think that we can certainly do a great deal better. That will be the challenge before us.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition) (11.35): I present Report No. 9 of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled "Review of Auditor-General's Report No. 1, 1995 - Government Passenger Cars", and I move:

That the report be noted.

Audit report No. 1 was presented to the Assembly on 21 June. It provides an independent opinion on the efficiency of ACT government passenger car use and the effectiveness of processes which are used for the purchase and disposal of passenger cars. The audit also made findings in regard to legal liability for loss of, or damage to, ACTEW cars being used for private purposes, fringe benefits tax and the reconciliation of ACT Fleet fuel issues.

Mr Speaker, the audit findings reveal a number of matters worthy of further examination by the Government. Those matters include the fact that many cars are unused during working days; that average business travel is some 13,000 kilometres a year, a very low figure; that many cars travel less than 20,000 kilometres a year; that most agencies have not analysed the efficiency of car use; and that about 75 per cent of non-SES cars are home garaged and running costs are not considered in determining home garaging. Other findings were that fringe benefit tax liability of some agencies has been overstated; that secure parking options are not adequately examined and many cars which are home garaged for operational needs outside normal working hours have little or no actual use for these purposes; that fuel usage is not effectively monitored; and that ACTEW officers were offered the use of cars without any bargaining for productivity improvements. I might say that the use of those cars was offered at a very attractive rate indeed.

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