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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4393 ..

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (11.23): I suppose that, if those opposite do accept the fact - and it is in Hansard - that there are a number of methods available that can be used for comparability purposes and that the preparer can use discretion in what constitutes such material, we would not have a problem with this. I think at the round table we did agree that backcasting would not be appropriate, as expending that amount of time and effort for virtually no outcome would not be a good way to spend taxpayers' dollars, Mr Speaker. So, if those opposite are willing to accept that that is what these words mean, then I would be quite calm about it.

Amendment negatived.

Amendment (by Mrs Carnell) proposed:

Page 4, line 8, proposed subsection 12A(2), omit "public trading enterprise", substitute "Territory authority".

MR WHITECROSS (11.25): Given that other members of the Assembly have gone down the path of narrowing these definitions in the past from "public trading enterprise" to "Territory authority", I do not hold out much hope that they are going to change their minds now - unless Mr Moore wants to get into a huddle and consider a recommittal on this particular matter.

I think it is worth putting on the record the Labor Party's point of view, that the Government's consolidated financial management report tabled today indicates that the following entities are public trading enterprises: ACT Forests, the ACT Milk Authority, ACTEW, ACTION, ACTTAB, CIT Solutions and the Housing Bureau. Of those, only two are Territory authorities within the definition of "Territory authority" in the Financial Management Act, which means that none of the information required in these provisions will be provided in relation to any of these other matters because they are outside the scope of these provisions. In addition, the definition of "Territory authority" allows the Treasurer, off her own bat, to gazette other Territory-owned corporations out of the scope of the definition of "Territory authority", which means that we could get information on none of these.

So, it seems to me that the Chief Minister has successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of members on the crossbenches in relation to this, and they have allowed her to establish a framework in which the kind of reporting being envisaged in the Financial Management Act does not have to be provided for entities such as those that I have been describing, including the Milk Authority, the Housing Bureau and ACTION, given that they are public trading enterprises, according to the Chief Minister's financial management report. So, Mr Speaker, as I said, it would require the recommittal of some clauses for the crossbenchers to change their minds; but they should at least know what they are voting for.

Amendment agreed to.

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