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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2207 ..
MR QUINLAN (10.50): I present the following report:
Finance and Public Administration-Standing Committee (incorporating the Public Accounts Committee)-Finance Committee Report No. 6-The Operation of the Financial Management Act 1996, dated June 2000, together with a copy of the extract of minutes of proceedings.
I move:
That the report be noted.
Effectively, this report tells the Assembly that our committee has decided that the inquiry given to the committee be curtailed. We wish to provide the Assembly with the opportunity to refer the matter to the committee at a future time, once the government's proposed amendments to the Financial Management Act are brought to this Assembly.
We were given this inquiry to undertake, and we commenced it. Immediately, we did the obvious and had senior public servants into the committee and had discussions. We were informed at that point that a comprehensive review was being conducted within the administration in relation to the Financial Management Act and that Treasury officials-or officials of the Chief Minister's Department, as they were then-intended to bring forward draft legislation.
Given that we have a whole public service and that reportedly a comprehensive and detailed inquiry was being conducted within the administration, the committee did the obvious thing and said, "We are not going to try to match that. We are not going to try to reinvent the wheel. We will hold off what we are doing until that draft legislation and the findings of that comprehensive inquiry are brought forward."
We have since been advised, to put the kindest construction on it, that the internal review of the Financial Management Act indicated that emerging issues were complex and required extensive consultation within government. Hence, it was not possible to provide the committee with amendments to the Financial Management Act in the foreseeable future.
I presume the review is continuing, with little hiccups within the administration, I am sure, handling a draft budget, a budget and the GST. I think it is quite reasonable that this inquiry within the Finance and Public Administration Committee be curtailed.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Ms Carnell: It has taken a long time to get to this stage.
Mr Quinlan: We did not get advice from the Treasurer until recently that they are not going to stuff up.
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