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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 176 ..
MS CARNELL (continuing):
the old system was more efficient than the new system, I think he should say that, because it will indicate to the whole industry, and certainly to every business in the ACT, that he just does not know what he is talking about; that he has no idea at all.
There is no doubt that a couple of smaller companies that missed out on contracts are unhappy about it. Those opposite will never be in government unless they can deal with that on a day-to-day basis, because it happens and it will inevitably happen. What governments want to do is look for better and more efficient outcomes - better ways for organisations like InTACT to operate in the future. That is what this is about - better efficiency, better usage of staff, keeping budgets under control and providing better outputs and better government.
It would seem that Mr Corbell is very keen on keeping things in the past, operating with multitudes of smaller indirect suppliers. The people we are talking about here are suppliers of contractors. That is not to say they have not done a good job. We were operating with individual contractors supplying one staff member or two staff members each. Now we are operating with one company with a very solid future in the Canberra market to provide our contractors, because it is more efficient and better for the long-term prospects of InTACT.
I will support, and I think my Ministers will support every day, an approach that creates better use of taxpayers' money and greater efficiency. It is interesting that Mr Corbell's knowledge of any of this is so bad that he does not understand that.
MS TUCKER: My question is directed to the Chief Minister. It is really a continuation of the question I asked yesterday regarding the ACT Government's position on mandatory sentencing laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Yesterday, Chief Minister, you stated in your response that you did not think this issue was compelling enough to warrant the Federal Government taking away the democratic rights of the Northern Territory Assembly to legislate on this matter. The reason why so much concern has been generated about these mandatory sentencing laws is that they contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I would like to quote some relevant articles from that convention. Article 37(b) states:
No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
Article 40.1 states:
States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the
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