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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (4 November) . . Page.. 3570 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I attend COAG, and I can assure members that the interests of the ACT are always uppermost in my mind. I have never been swept along by national interests, to the detriment of our local citizens. I think my record shows that, as I think Rosemary Follett's record shows too. In addition, the matters considered by COAG are extremely complex issues that cut across a myriad of financial, legal and service delivery frameworks. The matters that get to COAG are the ones that have been put in the too-hard basket for years. COAG agreements do not suddenly appear out of thin air. They evolve over long periods of time after a lot of research, analysis, public consultation and negotiation between governments. Mr Berry will recall the COAG agreements which were reached in his areas of portfolio responsibility when he was a Minister in the Follett Government. He may like to outline the process for the agreements he entered into as Minister for Health between 18 June 1991 and 7 June 1992. I believe these included things such as the Food Standards Code and the National Food Safety Regulations.

As any member of the Assembly who has the responsibility of government will know, reaching agreement at COAG is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the end of the process. The full process often includes further years - and I mean years - of discussions and negotiations between the different levels of government and further public consultation before the details of the agreements are finalised and associated benefits accrue to the general public. Over more recent times, there has been additional scrutiny by the Leaders Forum in relation to the COAG proposals. This brings another perspective to these critical matters. This is yet another check in the system to complement consideration of these issues by individual jurisdictions - that is, both the local governments and the local parliaments.

Since 1995 - that is, since I have been in government - only the following matters have been the subject of formal agreements by COAG: The trans-Tasman mutual recognition agreement, signed on 14 June 1996, and the COAG agreement to some follow-up arrangements for gas in 1995. However, Chief Minister Follett had committed the ACT to this process in February 1994 by agreeing to implement the uniform national framework for the access rights to natural gas supply networks, to facilitate free and fair trade in natural gas within and between jurisdictions. The trans-Tasman mutual recognition agreement was implemented by way of legislation passed in this Assembly on 19 June 1997 - that is, it was subject to the usual scrutiny of this house.

Mr Speaker, I would like to remind members of the excellent concessions the States and Territories have won from the Commonwealth in relation to the development of treaties. Last year, after extensive debate on the Commonwealth's practice of negotiating and signing treaties without proper consultation with the States and Territories, COAG established the Treaties Council. This enabled the proper involvement of States and Territories in the treaty-making process.

Debate interrupted.

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