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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 1972 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

I will now expand in some detail on a number of the recommendations that I dealt with earlier. The first relates to the actual process of the Estimates Committee itself and the draft budget process. I accept that Mr Hird and Mr Rugendyke had dissenting views on the matter, but the majority of the committee believes that it is the role of government to develop and take responsibility for its budget. That, we believe, should continue into the future and, more importantly, there should not be a draft budget process next financial year. That is our first recommendation to the Assembly.

Secondly, we believe that more time needs to be given for the Estimates Committee properly to consider the budget papers. This year the shortest timeframe ever was available to the Estimates Committee to consider the budget. I certainly extend my thanks to ministers and officers of their departments for being available in the very short timeframe presented to the committee. Nevertheless, the committee felt that it would be appropriate for members of the Estimates Committee, as well as other non-executive members, to have more time properly to digest the budget before the Estimates Committee commences. This year there was around a week left to members fully to digest the budget. A little bit more time would have allowed for a more effective process in the view of the committee.

Mr Humphries: For less sloppy work.

MR CORBELL: Another constructive comment from the committee-unlike Mr Humphries' comment-is the recommendation that, in the development of the Assembly's sitting pattern for next year, at the beginning of the year a week be set aside around the time of the presentation of the budget for the estimates process or whatever process the Assembly determines to take place so that all members of this place will know at the beginning of the year when estimates hearings will be held.

It would greatly assist the committee in preparing its timetable but, more importantly, it would greatly assist members of the government, particularly ministers, and other members to know when estimates will be held and when they will need to make themselves available. Hopefully, that will avoid what has become the norm on occasions over the past few years, certainly since I have been chairman, whereby it has been with extreme difficulty that we have been able to find time for a minister to be present, simply because of other engagements. Mr Speaker, by proposing this process, we hope to avoid that in the future.

Moving to the substance of the budget itself, perhaps the most important recommendation relates to the government's superannuation liability arrangements. The committee requested further information in relation to the assessment of the superannuation liability of the territory and believed that further work was required for the committee and the Assembly to have a better understanding of the superannuation liability arrangement.

In particular, the committee felt it important to have a reconciliation of the different data discrepancies identified by the actuary in his report on the government's superannuation liability arrangements. Secondly, we felt it was important that there be an annual total liability figure for superannuation so that we could have a better understanding of the emerging costs to the territory.

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