Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1931 ..

Mrs Carnell: The phone does not come through to my office.

MR BERRY: Okay, then; one of the numerous red passes that you get could be given to your children. Mrs Carnell says she has only one. We will make sure that you get some more so you can give them to your children. They can be given a pass. They can certainly get access through the front door if there is somebody in here, the same as everybody else. Do not give me that nonsense about people not being able to get in here. It has not been an issue that has confronted any of us. Sufficient action has been taken to ensure that staff and their members are kept in a safe environment.

Mrs Littlewood: What about our constituents, Mr Berry? What about the electors?

MR BERRY: Mrs Littlewood, when the day comes that you find that security here is so intense that you need to do another stunt out the front, please call me. I want to watch.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Part 2 - Auditor-General

Proposed expenditure - Auditor-General, $873,000 (comprising net cost of outputs, $873,000)

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (11.21): Mr Speaker, I was going to take the opportunity, in speaking to the Auditor-General's allocation, not so much to talk about the Auditor-General's allocation which, as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, I have already supported and which I know the Auditor-General is happy with - - -

MR SPEAKER: You will be out of order if you do not talk about it; but go on.

MR WHITECROSS: No, Mr Speaker, because you indicated earlier that this was a cognate debate.

MR SPEAKER: I see. You are going to talk about that as well?

Ms McRae: If you would let him.

MR WHITECROSS: If I can get my word in, Mr Speaker. I was going to talk about the Government's response to the Estimates Committee. I was just explaining to the house what I was doing, so that they would be enlightened.

This is the Carnell Government's third budget and the third time we have gone through an Estimates Committee process in relation to a Carnell Government budget. The response we received to the Estimates Committee report, I think, reflects the customary contempt in which the Government holds committees of this Assembly, and the Estimates Committee in particular as an appropriate authority for scrutiny of ACT Government budgets. We cannot take the Government's response seriously.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .