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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 (Hansard) 16 May) . . Page.. 1343 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

I remember that some years ago calls were always coming through to members of the Assembly about government cars that were inappropriately used and were seen in shopping centres and so on. In the vast majority of cases, those government cars were being used by community nurses and people such as that who, as part of their responsibility, would go and buy food and other items for elderly people they were nursing. Whilst we must keep an open attitude to what is going on with government cars, I believe that we must also make sure that they are used as efficiently as possible.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (11.44): I present the Government's response to the report, Mr Speaker.

Ms McRae: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Are we now going to open a new debate on the Government response or is this finishing the debate on the motion that the report be noted?

MR SPEAKER: The debate will conclude when Ms Follett responds.

Ms McRae: Then why are we getting the Government's response, and are we going to have a motion that we accept it? I just want a point of order clarified, Mr Speaker. We have a motion before the Chair that the report be noted. We are now going to get a Government response, which I am sure members will want to debate. What happens is that, if we want to move that the Government's response be noted, we cannot because there is a motion before the Chair. If perchance we find a way to do that, then people have to seek leave to speak again if we leave it under the first question. I just want that clarified, Mr Speaker. I am happy to let proceedings go ahead now, but perhaps you could come back on that.

MRS CARNELL: On 21 June 1995, the Auditor-General presented his report No. 1, which provided the results of a review of the efficiency and economy of ACT Government passenger vehicle use, purchase and disposal. The report identified a number of future actions which had the potential to improve the efficiency and economy of passenger car use as well as the effectiveness of the procedures for the purchasing and disposal of passenger cars.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts tabled its report No. 9 endorsing the Auditor-General's recommendations on 7 December 1995. The PAC concluded that, while responses from various Ministers and agencies indicated that action had been taken or was under way to address the matters raised in the Auditor-General's report, the pace and intensity of reform had not been sufficient. The committee also recommended that a number of reporting mechanisms be put in place to gauge progress, which I will address shortly.

Mr Speaker, the Government has given careful consideration to each of the recommendations of both the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee and has provided a response to each recommendation. We are in agreement with the general thrust of both reports. Passenger vehicles are a resource which must be effectively and efficiently utilised if the Government is to deliver its programs. To this extent, a number of reforms have been introduced which should make clearer the exact nature of various

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