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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (11 April) . . Page.. 1026 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

I note, and would reiterate to the Assembly, that the committee did not state any concerns with the items listed in the bill, or concerns which would present the bill passing this afternoon. The committee did, however, spend much time pursuing issues related to the 2002-03 budget. I suggest these issues are better suited to next year's budget.

Paper

Mr Quinlan presented the following paper:

Council of Australian Governments meeting

Ministerial statement

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Health, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for Women) (4.00): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a statement.

Leave granted.

MR STANHOPE: Mr Speaker, members of the Assembly will recall that, last Thursday and Friday, three important interjurisdictional events were held in Canberra. Firstly, a leaders forum was held on Thursday afternoon. Then, on Friday morning, the Council of Australian Governments met. On Friday afternoon, a summit on transnational crime and terrorism was held.

A number of significant issues were discussed at the three events. Today, I propose to touch briefly on the outcomes of the leaders forum, the COAG meeting and the summit on transnational crime and terrorism.

The Leaders Forum of First Ministers discussed the COAG agenda, which was human cloning, foot and mouth disease, national action plan on salinity and water quality, reconciliation and, under other business, public liability insurance. A number of other significant national issues were also on the leaders forum agenda. These were insurance arrangements for acts of terrorism; health and aged care; education; gas reserves; optimising the national interest; industrial relations; COAG reform, and the goods and services tax intergovernmental agreement.

Following the leaders forum and COAG meeting, joint communiqués were released, covering the outcomes of the meeting. The COAG communiqué provides an overview of COAG's agreed position on each of the agenda items.

The leaders forum communiqué addresses a number of issues that leaders wish to progress on a national level. Leaders have called on the Prime Minister to place these items on the COAG agenda, thereby giving COAG a leading role on these national issues.

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