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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 650 ..

MR MOORE (10.46): Mr Speaker, when I was approached by Mr Berry, through my office, about the appointment of the Select Committee on Estimates it was suggested that what we wanted was for the committee to look at the annual and financial reports for the financial year 1996-97, and I agree that that is the case. There has been some debate in this Assembly over a number of years as to whether that should be done with reference to early budgets, and whether that should be done by the Public Accounts Committee or the Estimates Committee. It is my view that it should be done by the Estimates Committee.

But there is another issue that is raised here, and that is the timing of the budget. On the issue of the timing of the budget, as far as I am concerned the Government is bringing down an early budget. I have argued for quite a number of years that the Government should bring down an early budget. I congratulated Rosemary Follett when she did it. At that time Mr Berry and Mr Wood were Ministers and I congratulated them for their role in getting that early budget down. I think the process worked far better. That budget was then dealt with without a Supply Bill. I considered that entirely appropriate and that is the process that I will continue to support now. I will not be able to support the amendment put by Mr Berry in its current form because of that part of it. My perception is that it does need some modification. It is a shame that, for a series of reasons, I had not had an opportunity to see the exact form of the amendment that Mr Berry has put up.

I do agree with him, however, that it is the Estimates Committee that should be looking at the annual and financial reports, rather than the Public Accounts Committee. My reasoning for that is that, whilst the Public Accounts Committee is perfectly capable of looking at that and inviting other members to join it in going through that process, there has been a culture within the Assembly that the Estimates Committee, in reviewing those, include far more members of the Assembly by invitation, by process, and so on. I think that is a worthwhile exercise. It is a specific task that we set aside a specific committee to do, and that in itself recognises the importance of the task.

Mr Speaker, I think it is appropriate that the Select Committee on Estimates be appointed, and that it have these two separate roles; but it must report on time by 17 June 1997, as far as the budget goes, in order to allow the budget to go through in time for us to have an early budget. That is my view. Then, the second part of the process is that it should handle the review of the annual and financial reports. Mr Speaker, I suggest that the best thing to do is to adjourn this for some time, so that we can sort out the amendments and make sure that we can do the two things that I think we are trying to achieve without the conflict that is inherent in the current amendments.

Debate (on motion by Ms McRae) adjourned.

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