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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 10 Hansard (18 October) . . Page.. 3176 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

importantly, the proposed deficit or surplus situation that the government puts forward for future budgets. In other words, should the surplus be as high as the government predicates in its forward estimates, should it be lower or should some other spending priority or budgetary priority be adopted as the view of the Assembly and of the government? All those matters are now possible under this structure. Mr Speaker, I commend that part of the process to the Assembly.

What will follow that, Mr Speaker, is somewhat different from the process that was followed in respect of this financial year. The government presented a complete draft budget in January of this year with respect to the present financial year. That will not be the case for the coming financial year. Rather, there will be a set of papers presented to committees-

Mr Corbell: I rise to a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the Chief Minister, but there is far too much audible conversation in the chamber. We are debating an important motion and I think it is important that the Chief Minister be heard in comparative silence.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you. I uphold the point of order. I would ask for silence in the chamber and elsewhere, please.

MR HUMPHRIES: I thank you, Mr Speaker. What will follow this will be a process of having initiatives in particular portfolio areas and capital works proposals, again in particular portfolio areas, provided to committees on certain conditions; that is, that the committees adopt the premise in considering the particular initiatives and capital works proposals for a particular portfolio that they have the liberty to reorganise or suggest changes to the proposals put forward, but not so as to exceed the amount which has been provided for the particular portfolio.

That, of course, was a provision that occurred in respect of last year's budget consultation and committee consideration of the draft budget, but it was done in the context that there had been no previous attempt by or capacity for an Assembly committee to consider the big picture on the budget. Today's motion gives the Assembly the capacity to consider the total picture of the budget before details of the budget are determined by the government and then provided, in turn, to Assembly committees.

I hope that members will agree that this proposal addresses the concerns that were raised by the Estimates Committee, at least in respect of this matter, and provides the Assembly with a capacity to further refine and develop what a majority of members of the Assembly have said that they believe is an important process; that is, to have the draft budget or a draft budgetary process available to the committee and to the community for public consideration.

Mr Speaker, there is not a great deal of time to consider this matter. The committee will have approximately two months in which to determine its views about the matters which will be referred to the committee by the government as a submission early in the period of its appointment; that is, the committee will have from the government an outline of the government's proposals in these areas so that it has a chance to comment on them, criticise those it wishes and suggest changes.

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