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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (23 May) . . Page.. 1733 ..

Tabling of annual environmental accounts

30B. The Treasurer shall cause annual environmental accounts prepared under section 30A to be laid before the Legislative Assembly within 3 sitting days after the preparation of the accounts is completed.".

The Assembly voted -

AYES, 3 NOES, 13

Ms Horodny Mr Berry Mr Kaine
Mr Moore Mrs Carnell Ms McRae
Ms Tucker Mr Cornwell Ms Reilly
Mr De Domenico Mr Stefaniak
Ms Follett Mr Whitecross
Mr Hird Mr Wood
Mr Humphries

Question so resolved in the negative.

Clause 31

MS TUCKER (5.51): I move:

Page 15, line 16, subclause (2), after "responsible" insert ", under the responsible Minister,".

Mr Speaker, I will speak now to this amendment and also to amendments Nos 5 and 6. The point of these amendments is to reinforce the concept of ministerial responsibility. They are similar to amendments that were supported by the Opposition and crossbenches last year when the Government put forward its legislation for senior executive contracts. There was concern at that time that Ministers would be shifting responsibility onto the shoulders of chief executives. These amendments also bring this legislation into line with the Public Sector Management Act. Section 28B of the Public Sector Management Act states:

Nothing in a [chief executive] contract ... shall be taken to derogate in any way from the responsibility of the Minister administering an administrative unit for -

(a) the policies developed or applied by the administrative unit; or

(b) the financial and other performance of the administrative unit.

As Ms Follett said in the debate last year on senior executive contracts, it is a commonsense precaution the Assembly ought to take to make it very clear that it is the Minister who must be responsible and accountable under the parliamentary system we operate in. This amendment is particularly important, with the emphasis on bottom line budgeting in executive contracts. I commend these amendments to the Assembly.

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