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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1775 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

I think that the government has realised what sorts of constraints the committee has on its time. For instance, we have had to ask the government to make the Treasurer available on the Monday of next week, having to postpone a cabinet meeting. I am grateful for the government's agreement to do that because, if that had not been possible, we would have lost another half a day. We already have two night sittings scheduled of the Estimates Committee just to examine all the agencies appropriately.

If we are going to take the time and do the work to structure a timetable to make sure that we can examine the agencies appropriately and ask ministers questions, we are going to need to take the time to put together a reasonable report. The timeframe presented in the original motion would have resulted in a draft report being prepared over one or two days, being forwarded to me as chairman of the committee and then being forwarded to the other members. That would have been an extremely tight timeframe. We felt that it was unworkable.

We are all under pressure here, not just the government. The committee is also under considerable pressure. Next week is going to be a very busy week. I regret the timeframe, but the committee feels that this is the only way for it to be able to present a reasonable report to the Assembly, and that is the requirement placed on us by the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a short statement advising the Assembly on the program for the next sitting week so that we understand where we are going.

Leave granted.

MR HUMPHRIES: The government will need to bring forward the budget bills for the beginning of debate on Tuesday, otherwise there will be no possibility of getting through the bills in the space of the three days set aside.

Mr Moore: But we do expect to be debating them on Thursday.

MR HUMPHRIES: On Thursday as well, of course, but we will start on Tuesday.

Motion (by Ms Tucker ) proposed:

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