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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 2 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 316 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

Mr Speaker, members will see that expenditure items in this bill are, at this stage of the current financial year, mostly unavoidable. The exception is the funding of the Office of Sustainability, which was a firm election commitment and is viewed as being needed immediately in the interests of responsible government.

Forward estimates for the current financial year have not been included and have not been upgraded because we have a commission of audit working on those things with Treasury support. That job will be done once and not twice in three weeks. I expect an interim report from that commission around about the end of this month, and that will give the estimated position for the current financial year.

I commend the bill to the house.

Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries ) adjourned to the next sitting.

Estimates 2001-02-Select Committee

Appointment

MR HUMPHRIES (Leader of the Opposition) (10.53): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion for the establishment of a Select Committee on Estimates to inquire into and report on the Appropriation Bill 2001-2002 (No 3).

Leave granted.

MR HUMPHRIES: I move:

1. A Select Committee on Estimates be appointed to inquire into and report on the Appropriation Bill 2001-2002 (No 3);
2. The Committee to be composed of:

1. two members to be nominated by the Government;
2. two members to be nominated by the Opposition; and
3. two members to be nominated by the ACT Greens and Australian Democrats;

1. the Committee report by Tuesday, 9 April 2002;
2. the Committee to send its report to the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker to the Deputy Speaker who is authorised to give directions for its printing, circulation and publication;
3. the foregoing provisions of this resolution so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders; and
4. on the Committee presenting its report to the Assembly resumption of debate on the question "That this Bill be agreed to in principle" be set down as an order of the day for the next sitting.

Mr Speaker, there have been a variety of practices in this place with respect to the appointment of estimates committees. The Assembly, of course, has always seen fit to establish an estimates committee for scrutiny of the main appropriation bill of any given year, and that has occurred without fail. That, of course, is the main exercise of scrutiny in a given year.

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