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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (30 April) . . Page.. 273 ..

Attachment 4. In a ministerial statement on the subject, Mr Kaine indicated that the arrangements concerning the Executive Deputies were predicated on three basic principles, namely:

* Ministers would be entirely responsible for all matters in their portfolio in accordance with the Self-Government Act;

* Ministers would be responsible in the Assembly for all matters in respect of the portfolios;

* The role of Executive Deputies was to provide an additional source of advice and assistance to Ministers in the exercise of their ministerial authority.

In some instances, Executive Deputies were elected as chairs of committees where the subject matter of the committee overlapped with that of the Executive Deputy's responsibilities. In those instances the then Opposition refused to participate in any committee inquiry, and, as a consequence, the effectiveness of Parliamentary committees was significantly impaired.

The reason for the non-participation in Assembly committees was perhaps best spelt out by the then Leader of the Opposition, Ms Rosemary Follett:

I repeat what I have said many times before - that we stand ready to participate fully in the life and work of Assembly committees. But committees must be an arm of the Assembly and not simply a rubber stamp for Government decisions.

... It is extremely important that there is a clear separation of powers between the Executive Government and the Assembly and this separation must not only occur in fact but it must also be seen to occur - even by the casual observer.

The Labor Party will not be seen as part of a committee which appears to be an executive committee. [W]e will not serve on a committee which is chaired by an Executive Deputy who has portfolio responsibilities in that committee's area of responsibility.".7

Mr Connolly later developed the view in his Statement attached to the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs' report on the Inquiry into Defamation Law in the Australian Capital Territory, where he stated:

As a legal principle a decision maker must not only be free from bias, but must be seen to be free. This is the nub of our concern. We make no accusation that Mr Stefaniak cannot distinguish between his Executive Deputy role and his committee Chair role. Rather, we say the public cannot have confidence in a committee chaired by a person held out to be a Government spokesperson. The public must wonder at the impartiality of an Executive Deputy in these circumstances. As Lord Denning said in Metropolitan Properties Co v Lannon [1969] IQB557 "The Court looks at the impression which would be given to other people. Even if he was as impartial as could be, nevertheless if right minded persons would think that in the circumstances there was a real likelihood of bias on his part then he should not sit".8

Clearly the Assembly's previous experience in a related issue suggests that a question critical to the continued wellbeing of the Assembly's committee system as it has operated is - would the chairs of executive committees be appointed to Assembly committees, particularly committees with terms of reference connected with the terms of reference to the relevant executive committee. If the answer to the question is yes, then depending on the actions taken
by the Members (if any) who are not serving on the executive committees the future
of the Assembly committee system cannot remain untouched. If the Members who do
not serve on the executive committees take a similar stance to that taken during the
Alliance Government towards executive deputies holding the chair then the work
of Assembly committees will be impaired. Another option is that all Members

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7 Hansard, 27 March 1990, p. 879
8 Standing Committee on Legal Affairs Report on the Inquiry into Defamation Law in the Australian Capital Territory, June 1991, p. 43

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