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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (11 November) . . Page.. 3927 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

I believe that the most important part of the Bill is the education program that is going to be run over the next six to 12 months. I believe that that is a very pivotal part of this whole legislation. The way we instruct and educate our community on environmental protection is a critical part of this Bill. It is also very important that the government of the day seek good advice on how best to impart information to the community and how best to get value from that whole education process. That is obviously a critical part of the whole partnership between business, government and the community.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister): I ask for leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on ministerial meetings held on 6 and 7 November 1997.

Leave granted.

MRS CARNELL: I would like to advise members of the outcome of the special Premiers Conference on tax reform, the Domestic Violence Summit, the COAG meeting and the Treaties Council meeting which were all held on last Thursday and Friday in Canberra. I will deal with each of these meetings briefly in turn. The special Premiers Conference was an opportunity for the leaders of all jurisdictions to discuss tax reform and possible ways ahead in the debate about how our system should be structured. While there was unanimous agreement that Australia did need fundamental reform of its national taxation system heading towards the twenty-first century, I have to say that there is still a long way to go before significant progress and agreement can be achieved. Members will have seen from the communique that there were a number of principles that were agreed to.

The Domestic Violence Summit, unfortunately, lasted for just one hour. While it was an important step forward for all State, Territory and Commonwealth leaders to come together to address this crucial issue, the time allocated for discussion and the resources committed by the Federal Government were, at least in my view and the view of a number of other leaders, I have to say, inadequate. While the ACT did agree to work as part of a national task force to tackle domestic violence, only $12m was allocated to the States and Territories in new funding for projects over the next 31/2 years. Domestic violence is a national issue that does require a national commitment; so, I suppose that last Friday's meeting represented, at least, a good starting point. One positive outcome of the summit was advice that the Federal Attorney-General will be issuing a discussion paper entitled "Model Domestic Violence Laws" which proposes complementary legislation across the country to ensure continuity of safety and protection for survivors.

The meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, or COAG as it is more commonly called, followed immediately after. The key issues discussed included Commonwealth-State roles and responsibilities in environmental regulation, greenhouse strategies, illicit drugs and gas reform. The ACT dissented from endorsing the

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