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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 47 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

The notion of separation of powers dictates that elected representatives should be separate from the executive and free to roam across programs and activities to consider areas of community concern and make recommendations to the Assembly accordingly.

The structure proposed here today follows broad policy lines and thrusts. It puts policy issues into six groups under general headings. The standing committee structure is for a Standing Committee on Administration and Procedure, as dictated by standing orders, and six policy committees. These standing committees are Public Accounts, Education, Health, Legal Affairs, Community Services and Social Equity, and Planning and Environment.

The motion circulated in my name indicates most of the detailed policy thrusts to be addressed by the committees, but there may be areas of crossover which, through their emphasis, may fall into one committee or the other.

The general thrust of the PAC is that of financial and economic accountability. That of Education is clearly the education of young people and adults, with a further accent on arts, culture and sport and recreation.

The Health Committee has the task of looking into issues concerning the range of health matters facing the people of the ACT. This will include not only the major issues of hospitals, community and preventative medicine but also public health and substance abuse. It will also look at targeted health programs such as issues for women, younger and older people.

The Legal Affairs Committee will look into the range of community safety issues covered by the former Justice and Community Safety Standing Committee, but will also have carriage of governance and electoral issues and industrial relations. Industrial relations are included in this committee because industrial relations are about the fundamental rights of employees and employers alike.

The committee will also have responsibility for scrutiny of bills and subordinate legislation in respect of recommendations to the Assembly over possible infringements of personal rights and liberties. It would be preferable for this committee to be one in its own right, but regard must be taken of the workload of both members of this Assembly and that of the Committee Office.

The Community Services and Social Equity Standing Committee will have carriage of a wide range of community issues centred around the quality of life and equity of access for significant groups within our community, and will address such burning issues as poverty in our community and children at risk of not making it in our society.

The Planning and Environment Standing Committee will have the responsibilities of looking at planning issues, land management, conservation and heritage, transport and the environment, all in the context of ecological sustainability.

Sustainability and the triple bottom line are issues which have become more apparent in recent times and consideration of these issues must be threaded through all committees.

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