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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1906 ..

MRS CARNELL: I am confident that they would have said that they would not have gone, Mr Speaker, even if they had been asked. We believe strongly, particularly in a small government like the ACT's, that if we do not work closely with our bureaucracy we simply will not get the maximum results.

Ms McRae: What a lot of twaddle!

MRS CARNELL: I am sorry, Ms McRae; it is not rubbish. It is absolutely important. Part of that - - -

Ms McRae: You have just said that it is rubbish. You have just said that it was just on butchers paper and total rubbish.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister is answering the question.

Mr Humphries: Cockatoo time.

MRS CARNELL: It is a bit screechy. Mr Speaker, I am very happy to answer Ms Follett's question about the proposed executive board. The proposed executive board has not been set up. What we do have is a ministerial advisory board, which was sort of about mark 4000 of the executive board, which came up as an idea. We then looked at the benefits of that and the downsides of that. Now we have a situation where, approximately once a month, the heads of the various agencies meet before Cabinet meets to discuss issues that - - -

Ms McRae: Yes, it has come to something. It was not just an idea that was off the planet.

MRS CARNELL: I am sorry; that was the question, I understood, Mr Speaker. Now we have something we call the ministerial advisory board, where we can get together the various agency heads of all departments to discuss, particularly, issues of direction that are across particular agencies. We believe that it is appropriate to get the input of all of our senior public servants on issues of great concern, or strategic or directional issues. Mr Speaker, for the interest of all those here, it is working extraordinarily well. It means that our agency heads and, for that matter, all members of Cabinet are very much part of directions that affect them in their particular departments, rather than ending up just latching on after the event. It has worked well from a management perspective, and I suppose that the first seeds of that idea came out of the weekend at Eagle Hawk.

MS FOLLETT: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Now that Mrs Carnell has actually admitted to having a Cabinet alternative, a kitchen Cabinet, if you like, I ask Mrs Carnell: Does this represent a total vote of no confidence in your existing Ministry and/or a backdoor method of expanding that Ministry to 10 people?

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