Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 7 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 2153 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

The Auditor-General, a year or so after the event, warned that the process undertaken had exposed the ACT to risk; that there are some financial risks; and that there were no guarantees that even the meagre positive result that was measured - something less than one per cent - would be realised if interest rates fell, because of the formula involved in the setting of leasing rates. In fact, interest rates did fall in that particular year. I think they have remained constant in the subsequent year.

So it is important that - not so much the recommendation that this report be recognised - the whole process that the Assembly and the Government went through be recognised for what it was and be noted so that we can be assured that it does not repeat itself. So, despite the brevity of the recommendation, I submit that it should be taken seriously.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR QUINLAN (11.26): Mr Speaker, I present Public Accounts Committee Report No. 8 of the Standing Committee for the Chief Minister's Portfolio, entitled "Reviews of Auditor-General's Report No. 10, 1997 - Public Interest Disclosures - Lease Variation Charges, and Auditor-General's Report No. 2, 1998 - Lease Variation Charges - Follow-up Review", together with a copy of the extracts of the minutes of proceedings. I move:

That the report be noted.

Mr Speaker, this particular exercise has a long history. It is a history that goes back a couple of governments. The committee, in reviewing the initial audit report on it, thought that it was serious enough to conduct a further review to ensure that some lessons had been learnt; that some note had been taken of what seemed to be a bit of a fast and loose culture that had existed with lease variations way back then; and that all reasonable efforts had been made to take remedial action and to recover funds that had been forgone in what turned out to be fairly lax interpretations of the prevailing lease change conditions and provisions, particularly in relation to betterment tax.

Again, Mr Speaker, I trust that the recommendations laid out in the report are taken seriously and that we do not regress to the situation that gave rise to this. We are reasonably assured that in these lease variations some action has been taken, but at other times in the course of this Assembly we have identified some further fast and loose decision-making and processing, and we certainly trust that we are seeing an end to that overall culture.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .