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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4783 ..

MS HORODNY: I think it is appropriate that no changes be implemented until we do have an inquiry. I think it is appropriate that the Legal Affairs Committee inquire into this issue. Mr Osborne has very sensibly put a reporting time in his motion. It is May 1997; it is not that far away. If these changes are worth making, then you should feel all right about having them go to the committee. Let them have an airing, and let us make sure that everyone is happy with these changes that you are proposing.

Mr Humphries: Let us see them without holding them up in the meantime.

MS HORODNY: You are saying, Mr Humphries, "Let us step back, take a breath and think about these issues". That is exactly what Mr Osborne is proposing. I have the same concerns as Mr Osborne has about bringing in these very major changes at such a time, just before the bushfire season. I also think it is unfair of Mr Humphries to go into some of the details of some of the alleged problems; for instance, the car that was supposedly misused. I think it is unfair because this is not the forum for us to go into that sort of detail. People who are being accused of doing the wrong thing are not represented in this forum. It is unfair of Mr Humphries to make those sorts of statements here. As I said, it is not a good time of year to have these major restructures going on.

If this is a worthwhile proposal, then let us have a committee look at it and produce a report after a full and open process. It obviously has not been a full process, because members of this Assembly, for instance, have been called upon to look into this issue only very recently. Obviously, it has not been as open as it could have been. We will be supporting this matter going to the committee.

MS FOLLETT (10.57): Mr Speaker, I realise that there have been quite longstanding administrative and coordination issues in emergency services. As Mr Humphries said, there has been a process of change occurring across the spectrum in that area of the ACT administration over recent years. I agree with Mr Humphries that change, particularly where it is dramatic change, is often very painful and very difficult for the people who are involved in that change. Like other members of the Assembly, I was briefed by officers of Mr Humphries's department on the restructure - it was not a proposed restructure at the time - of the emergency services area, and very fully briefed. Since I have been briefed, I have been approached by a number of groups who have put forward differing views on the efficacy and the workability of the restructure that the department has embarked upon. I realise, as Mr Humphries said, that this restructure most definitely has its supporters as well as its detractors; that is undoubtedly the case. I would accept Mr Humphries's word that the supporters of the restructure are probably a majority. Nevertheless, the people who do not agree with it and who have had significant difficulty in coming to terms with the restructure are a significant group within emergency services.

Mr Speaker, I think we should all bear in mind just how many people in emergency services actually work as volunteers who give up their time when they could otherwise be spending time with their family or on hobbies or some form of recreation. They give up their time to train for and to undertake absolutely vital emergency work in our community. I find that kind of dedication to your community completely praiseworthy and I believe that the people who have been involved do deserve a thorough say in how their services are reorganised.

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