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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 218 ..

MRS LITTLEWOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. Can the Chief Minister advise the Assembly whether the Territory's budget remained on track for the six months to the end of December and whether the Opposition Leader was correct in his assertion yesterday that figures presented in monthly financial reports are neither meaningful nor accurate?

MRS CARNELL: The Leader of the Opposition yesterday engaged in a quite disgraceful attack on some of this Territory's most senior and hardworking public servants. It is the sort of attack that we have become fairly used to from Mr Whitecross, and it really is a great shame, from somebody who was touted as a fresh face of the Labor Party, somebody who would bring a new approach to politics, a new breed of Labor politician. But, unfortunately, we now are seeing the same sorry old tactics.

Mr Whitecross tabled in this Assembly yesterday a media release and supporting document that quite deliberately misrepresented the data presented in the Government's monthly financial reports by quoting sections totally out of context. He then proceeded to denigrate the work of OFM officials, who are very hard working and are working, I think, very well to improve the level of financial reporting in the ACT. This is the thanks they get for providing to Mr Whitecross every month quite detailed oral and written briefings about the financial data. Unlike Mr Berry, who is having a bit of a laugh here - but I hope Mr Berry is actually going to apologise a little later; I doubt it, but it would be good - we were rather hoping that Mr Whitecross might understand the figures in the new system, which, incidentally, all of those opposite actually supported. But, no, Mr Whitecross chose to mock the efforts of those officials by using out of context the comments that they had made - not that I had made, but that they had made.

The reports quite honestly state that, as agencies become more expert at the new financial reporting system, the accuracy of the data in the monthly reports is improving and improving every month. Nobody ever said that all the documentation would be perfect from the first month; it would simply be impossible for that to be so. I would have thought, though, Mr Speaker, that everybody in this place would be saying, "What a good idea! Is it not great that every month things improve?".

Mr Berry: They are worse.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Berry says that they are worse. That is saying that the OFM officials, who are working very hard to make this work, somehow are not doing their job properly. It is simply not acceptable, Mr Speaker. But Mr Whitecross chose to use it as an opportunity to score some very cheap political points. Mr Speaker, contrast that with the very expensive political points of yesterday, $400,000 worth of expensive political points, to denigrate the efforts of public servants who are working extraordinarily long hours to ensure that we really do have the most comprehensive system of public sector reporting in this country; and we do.

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