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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1659 ..

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, the Labor Party seems to be obsessed with the fact-

Members interjecting-

MR SPEAKER: Order, please! You presumably want to hear an answer to the member's question. I suggest you remain silent.

Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In terms of the question put, I do not think we want to know what the Labor Party is doing. The question is what is PALM doing? I am not interested in what the Labor Party is doing.

MR SPEAKER: Neither am I and that is why I do wish they would stop interjecting.

MR SMYTH: It is important to understand that the approach of those opposite is that you cannot ever seek or achieve better efficiencies from public servants.

Mr Hargreaves: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: this is hypothetical. You cannot possibly know what the Labor Party is doing.

Mr Moore: Which standing order is that? It is about-

MR SPEAKER: Order! The minister is answering the question.

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, we do know as a matter of fact that they have objected to every staff change that this government has ever put forward because they know that they do not know how to achieve greater efficiency. PALM is achieving its budget targets through a combination of measures. This includes systems and process reform, better training, better development and a progressive reduction in staffing numbers across the organisation because we are learning how to handle it better. We can continue this. There are bills before this Assembly which highlight how we can simplify that process and we will continue to do so.

Mr Berry: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I thought the question that was asked of the minister was what services are going to be cut. Does he know or doesn't he? Is the answer yes or no?

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, if you had bothered to listen, the minister was in the process of answering that very point.

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, I am happy to repeat it.

MR SPEAKER: Please do.

MR SMYTH: PALM, consistent with other areas of the department, is subject to greater efficiencies.

Members interjecting

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