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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 10 Hansard (26 November) . . Page.. 3053 ..

MR QUINLAN: Mr Speaker, pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to inform the Assembly that on 20 November this year the Standing Committee for the Chief Minister's Portfolio resolved to inquire into and report on the form and content of the draft capital works program. As early as May of this year, the committee identified its interest in the draft capital works program as part of its responsibility to examine and report on all matters related to the Chief Minister's portfolio, including fiscal and economic policy, taxation and revenue and any other matter under the responsibility of that portfolio.

The committee sought to reconcile last year's capital works program commitments and provisions and the extent to which these had been initiated. The committee had difficulty in making this reconciliation and, through the Chief Minister, sought the assistance of the Office of Financial Management in outlining how projects attract across years and how priorities are reconfirmed between years. OFM briefed the committee and advised that next year's capital works program will be redesigned to include acquittal of programs, to avoid artificial staging of projects, and to show gross costs of projects and financial contributions to be made from non-government sources.

After further correspondence with OFM, which included the provision of a draft layout of content and the presentation of the future capital works program, the committee had the benefit of a further briefing by OFM. As a result of its research and consideration of this issue, the committee has come to the point where its findings should be reported to the Assembly. The adoption of this reference will provide the committee with a formal basis for presenting its report. May I give Mr Hird, the chairman of the Urban Services Committee, the assurance that we have no intention of usurping his role in examining the content - - -

Mr Hird: I find a gross discourtesy your not telling me before. You have been very busy and you have not raised it with me, but we will deal with that in a minute.

MR QUINLAN: It has nothing to do with being a gross discourtesy. I am telling you that we are looking at the form and content of it. We intend to review the form and content and we intend to bring back recommendations on the form and content of the draft capital works budget.

MR HIRD: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a statement in response to the statement of the chairman of the Standing Committee for the Chief Minister's Portfolio.

Leave granted.

MR HIRD: As chairman of the Urban Services Committee, I am concerned about the action proposed by the chairman of the Standing Committee for the Chief Minister's Portfolio. Indeed, there has been no information passed from that committee to my committee, either to the secretary or to any member of the committee, including me

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