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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4378 ..

Clauses 1 to 3, by leave, taken together, and agreed to.

Clause 4

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (10.24): I move:

Page 2, line 4, definition of "budget-funded departmental activities", omit the definition.

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum. Earlier this year the Government and Mr Whitecross tabled financial management amendment Bills. As I said earlier, after 12 months of operation of the FMA, it is reasonable to expect that there would be a need for some refinements in the light of experience.

Mr Speaker, the Government reforms have replaced the highly prescriptive regulatory approach of the Audit Act 1989 with a more devolved approach that clearly defines chief executives' responsibilities and accountabilities. Under this approach, the Government is able to provide further guidance and prescriptiveness through regulations and, particularly, guidelines issued under subsection 78(2) of the FMA. The FMA's flexibility enables it to be responsive and robust enough to accommodate policy changes in the Territory's reformed and evolving financial management framework, thus avoiding the problems of legislative amendments which are less responsive to the need for change and not as timely as the issuing of instructions.

With all this background in mind, the Government has some concerns about the level of prescriptiveness contained in Mr Whitecross's amendments. However, the Government is prepared to agree to a degree of prescriptiveness in the FMA, provided such requirements are workable and achievable. Accordingly, the Government has met with Assembly members to explain some of the problematic issues that the Bill has in its present form. As a result of these discussions, I have tabled the Government's proposed amendments to the Whitecross Financial Management (Amendment) Bill 1997. As members will see, the Government's amendments clarify the framework intended by the Bill and also provide workable reporting requirements that can be efficiently, accurately and cost-effectively met within a reasonable timeframe. Mr Speaker, I thank members of the Assembly for their work in the round table. As members would be aware, the Government has moved from its original position. I hope that we have a position that is now workable.

MR BERRY (Leader of the Opposition) (10.26): I would just like the Chief Minister to tell me why "budget-funded departmental activities" should not mean "those activities related to the delivery of agreed outputs of departments and for which there is an agreed purchase price funded in an Appropriation Act". That enshrines, it seems to me, what the Chief Minister has said to us many times was her intention in relation to the newfound expertise for running government departments throughout the ACT. What we have set out to define there is what "budget-funded departmental activities" are, and I have not heard from the Chief Minister and Treasurer an argument as to why they should not be defined accordingly. I would like to hear one in order that I can get my teeth into it.

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