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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4981 ..

MR SPEAKER: Would you two like to go outside and talk this over or something?

MR STEFANIAK: Ha, ha! Anyway, this matter was referred to the Social Policy Committee. Given that we did investigate it in 1996, as members grudgingly concede, and formed an opinion then, I thought it important that we have another look at it. A team of four people from CHADS is going down, I am told, next Wednesday, Ms Reilly. Logically, as a result, this Government will be happy, if we are back here after February, to table in the Assembly a report in relation to the feasibility of the establishment of that centre.

MS TUCKER: Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to inform the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Policy agreed that the following statement on the committee's activities during the Third Assembly be made. Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement outlining the work of the Social Policy Committee over the last three years. The committee's resolution of appointment gives it a very broad brief. Under this resolution of appointment the committee can examine matters related to health, education, welfare, housing, social security, people with a disability, Aboriginal people, the status of women, multicultural affairs, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, the arts, and sport and recreation.

During the Third Assembly the committee has undertaken a very heavy workload. It held 137 formal meetings - that is, on average, one a week. The committee has produced seven reports, one discussion paper and four statements. It received a total of 203 submissions to its inquiries, held 52 public hearings over 134 hours during which it heard from 387 witnesses and took 2,337 pages of evidence, visited 41 programs, both in the ACT and interstate, and to date has considered 225 statutory appointments under the Statutory Appointments Act 1994.

The committee's inquiries have covered a wide range of subjects and have produced substantial reports. Social policy issues are usually complex and require extensive research, investigation and analysis. Two inquiries related to education, namely, "Prevention of Violence in Schools" and "The implications of the proposed restructure of the School Without Walls for the alternative education needs of secondary students in the ACT". Another related to the Commonwealth/Territory Disability Agreement, which involved lengthy deliberations over a period of 14 months and required the committee to research the complicated issues of Commonwealth-State agreements. It was a complex inquiry which raised a number of management and care issues which were not appropriate for the committee to deal with under the inquiry's terms of reference. In the case of complaints about the standard of care, witnesses were encouraged to take their complaints to the Commissioner for Health Complaints, who investigated them and handed down a report. Complaints about the management of a government service provider were referred to the Auditor-General for investigation.

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