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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (11 November) . . Page.. 3922 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

not the one that the Chief Minister could think of in Labor times. There are probably more, but that was the one that came to mind. Chief Minister, how do you have the gall to criticise the Prime Minister for not living here when you have to pay the most senior ACT public servants up to $400 extra a week to live in the city that they are paid to run?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, what those opposite are doing is questioning the allowances under the regulations. If the allowances are wrong, this Assembly can change them, but those opposite operated under the same allowances. People have a legal entitlement to those allowances if they come from interstate. It happens in the Commonwealth and, I understand, in other States as well. The reason that I am always willing, and I have to say obliged, to pay people their entitlements under the regulations is that I always want the best people possible for the jobs. We use full merit selection for our senior jobs. Therefore, if the best person happens to live outside the ACT, then that is the person we will take. We do not take the approach that those opposite took in government. I remember one particularly auspicious Friday afternoon when Rosemary Follett appointed three chief executive officers - at least one, maybe two, without even an interview - without any merit selection. It is not surprising that if Ms Follett was willing to take that approach she was not getting people from out of State.

Our position has been really clear. We will advertise all jobs, but particularly our senior jobs, Australia-wide. We will take the best people possible, and we will pay them the allowances that they are legally entitled to under the regulations. If we did anything else, then those opposite would have something to complain about.

I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, pursuant to standing order 83A, I present an out-of-order petition lodged by Mr Hird from 30 citizens relating to the release of land in Hawker for multiunit residential development.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning): I present the schedule of lease variations and change of use charges for the period 1 July 1997 to 30 September 1997 and the schedule of leases granted for the same period pursuant to the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991. I ask for leave to make a short statement in respect of that matter.

Leave granted.

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