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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 9 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2665 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

would be very often, but I think it is appropriate for the commissioner to have this capacity for those unusual circumstances. Any decision made by the commissioner would be subject to Assembly scrutiny through the annual reporting process.

There is also no intention to permit double payments. However, it is important that the ACT Public Service have the flexibility to meet every employment contingency if arrangements are suitably transparent. The current system for non-executives has not caused any significant concern, and the potential issues are basically the same.

Mr Berry's second concern relates to clause 8 of the Bill. This clause simplifies the making of routine management standards. The current system requires two approaches to the Chief Minister on the same policy issue - first, to obtain in-principle approval and, second, to sign off the instrument for the commissioner to make the standard.

The proposed change is a simple streamlining and efficiency measure. It would eliminate the need for the second formal stage where there is no significant policy issue involved - for example, the clarification of existing standards or a periodic increase in the amount of an allowance. The Chief Minister would be approached only at the formal approval stage, not twice. The parameters within which the commissioner would make the standards would be set and varied at any time by the Chief Minister. The scrutiny of the Assembly is still there. Standards would continue to be gazetted and tabled as disallowable instruments.

Mr Speaker, the current arrangements are unnecessarily time consuming and have tended to result in batching of standards to reduce the flow of individual submissions. The changes to the Gazette arrangements are sensible, reflecting that we have now had our own Public Service for five years and self-government for 10 years. We should have our own Gazette. We should have our own identity in this area.

In my letter to Mr Berry I indicated that the Commonwealth Gazette, as we understand it, is not Y2K compliant, and therefore the Commonwealth will have to make some changes in the near future to sort their Gazette out, so it is an appropriate time for us to have our own ACT identity.

Jobs will be advertised in our own Gazette. The new arrangements will enhance electronic access to the Gazette using the ACT Government's Internet site. Printed copies will still be available. I suppose we all have to realise that the world is moving forward. The electronic age is upon us, and wherever possible we should provide government services and government publications by electronic means.

The reason for the government amendment I put forward today is obvious. It came about because we adjourned the Bill for a long period. The ACT Gazette will come in on 1 January next year, maybe a very appropriate time for the ACT to take another step towards its own identity, its own future.

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