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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 3 Hansard (27 May) . . Page.. 676 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

My party will not be opposing this motion, but we have to put on the record very clearly that that is a very arduous standard to be setting for the Government, given that in 1996 both the Commonwealth Attorney-General, who was then in charge of the Federal Police, and the Prime Minister rejected the recommendation of the Assembly's then Legal Affairs Committee that there should be a statutory appointment of an ACT police commissioner. The Prime Minister is still in office and, although there is now a different Minister responsible for the Federal Police directly, the existing Attorney-General also retains some oversight of that area.

I cannot pretend to this Assembly that I am optimistic about changing the view of the Federal Government. I certainly intend to go back to the Federal Government armed with this motion, but I need to warn members that there is a high bar that has been set and that at some point we are going to have to sign a contract to continue policing services for the ACT. I sincerely hope that that will include the provisions that the Assembly seeks, but from my position in this place - a position which Mr Osborne described in the previous Assembly as a popgun - I cannot guarantee that that can be incorporated into that agreement.

To reflect what I think Mr Osborne is seeking in this motion - that is, that the ACT, rather than the Commonwealth, should be appointing the ACT commissioner - I have circulated in this place an amendment to delete the words "proceed with" and replace them with "accede to". Until the Federal Government gives the ACT Government a commitment to accede to the appointment of a police commissioner for the ACT, no new contractual arrangement would be entered into. I formally move:

Omit "proceed with", substitute "accede to".

I ask members to support the amendment in order to clarify what the motion is about. Mr Speaker, I offer the guarantee to members that we will pursue vigorously the issues of the Assembly as placed on our plate. I hope that we will succeed, because certainly that will improve the quality of service which we can deliver to the people of the ACT and better account to them for the $53m or so which we spend on their behalf on buying policing services in this Territory.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Motion (by Mr Humphries) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

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