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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 375 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

The report also suggested that more emphasis should be placed on maintaining and developing the body of skills necessary to ensure satisfactory performance of current and prospective functions of the Central Financing Unit and the Superannuation and Insurance Provision Unit. With the increasing complexity of financial transactions and the inherent limitations on the supply of in-house skills, the recourse to external advice is both necessary and unavoidable. Accordingly, the creation of a Finance and Investment Advisory Board will significantly enhance the decision-making processes by providing a range of skills at a relatively low cost.

Additionally, the report recommends that the core body of expertise embodied in the Central Financing Unit and Superannuation and Insurance Provision Unit be maintained and strengthened through the enhancement of resources and the creation of a separate Finance and Investment Group within the Department of Treasury and Infrastructure with direct reporting lines to the Under Treasurer.

The board will serve to test ideas and proposals, provide second opinions on market advice, and ensure appropriate monitoring of relevant financial activities. The discipline on officials to consult with and service the board will produce improved financial outcomes in respect of investment returns, lower cost of borrowings and improved public perceptions of the soundness and prudence of the Government's financial transactions.

Mr Speaker, these recommendations are eminently sensible and the Government accepts them without reservation. However, Mr Speaker, these proposals are only the first, albeit important, step in the process of ensuring that the ACT community's valuable financial assets are effectively and prudently managed. As Mr Fraser quite rightly points out in his report, the task remains for the proposed Finance and Investment Group and the Advisory Board to establish appropriate guidelines, processes and procedures to provide a suitable balance between improved prudential controls and the necessary degree of flexibility to respond to the rapidly developing financial markets.

This report, written by one of our country's most prominent leaders in the financial market sector, is a very worthwhile contribution to the overall strategy for managing and protecting the ACT's assets. I urge the members of this Assembly to make themselves familiar with its content.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (3.53): For the information of members, I present the Government's response to the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety's report No. 6 entitled "The Agents (Amendment) Bill 1998". The report was presented to the Assembly on 7 December 1999. I move:

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