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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 678 ..

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, I present Report No. 3 of 1997 of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation, and I ask for leave to make a brief statement on that report.

Leave granted.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, Report No. 3, which I have just presented, was circulated when the Assembly was not sitting, on 5 March, pursuant to the resolution of appointment of 9 March 1995. The most significant item in the report relates to determinations under the Motor Traffic Act. While the collection of road rescue fees is now validly done, the question remains about the validity of collections before 21 February. We wait for the Government's response.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

ACTION Chief Executive

MR WHITECROSS: My question is to Mr Kaine in his capacity as Minister for Urban Services. Minister, I refer you to an article which appeared in the Canberra Times on Saturday, 22 February, this year. This article was speculating on the future of the ACTION chief executive, Mr John Flutter, who the article claimed was the victim of a campaign to destabilise him. Minister, I note in that article that a spokesperson from your office is quoted as saying, "Mr Flutter has his Minister's complete support", and going on to say that the review of ACTION services "implied no criticism of Mr Flutter". Minister, will you now personally give a public commitment that John Flutter has your unequivocal support and that he will not be made a scapegoat for the hostile public reaction to your Government's ill-considered cuts to ACTION services?

MR KAINE: I have no difficulty at all with saying yet again that Mr Flutter has my complete support, and always has had, as the executive director of ACTION. John Flutter has always been a professional public servant and remains so. At no time have I had occasion to criticise him for the way he has done his business. He certainly has had, and still has, my total support.

MR WHITECROSS: I ask a supplementary question. Minister, can you confirm that Mr John Flutter is, in fact, leaving the ACT government service this week, that he is to finish on Friday and that he is to be replaced by Mr Geoff Clifford? How do you expect anyone to believe your protestations of support for Mr Flutter, given that the months of speculation about his future have now proved to be correct?

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