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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 8 Hansard (19 August) . . Page.. 2822 ..

Health-Standing Committee-Report No 3-Inquiry into 2001-2002 Annual & Financial Reports-Government Response, dated July 2003.

Planning and Environment-Standing Committee-Report No 12- Inquiry into the Urban Services Portfolio 2001-2002 Annual and Financial Reports-Government Response, dated July 2003.

Education-Standing Committee-Report No 2-Inquiry into 2001-2002 Annual & Financial Reports-Government Response, dated July 2003.

Legal Affairs-Standing Committee-Report No 5-Report on Annual and Financial Reports 2001-2002-Government Response, dated July 2003.

I ask for leave to make a statement.

Leave granted.

MR STANHOPE: I am pleased to present the government's responses to five standing committee reports on the annual and financial reports for 2001-02. The government has taken the slightly unusual step of having one minister-in this case me-table responses to a number of standing committee reports covering all portfolios. The government has done this for two reasons. Firstly because, with only one exception, the standing committee reports cover more than one minister and more than one portfolio and, secondly, and perhaps more importantly, four committees made recommendations that apply to all departments and agencies.

For those reasons the government believes that the Assembly and the respective standing committees will be better informed by this whole-of-government response. As members will be aware, annual and financial reports are prepared by agencies in accordance with the Chief Minister's annual report directions and in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1996. The government seeks to ensure that the directions in the act are continually updated to reflect best practice and full accountability in accordance with government policy.

In this respect this government welcomes the recommendations of the standing committees and thanks the committees for the effort that they have made in preparing their reports. I would also like to acknowledge the difficulties faced by the standing committees in reviewing the 2001-02 annual and financial reports. Firstly, as members will be aware, the annual and financial reports were, because of the intervening election, prepared by a Labor government against directions and priorities set by a Liberal government.

For this reason many of the comments from the committees have necessarily focused on the structure of reports rather than on an analysis of the effectiveness of policies or programs. This is not a criticism; indeed it is an observation by several of the committees. I commend the committees for their efforts in the face of this difficulty. A second difficulty faced by the standing committees is the fact, as noted earlier, that the standing committees no longer mirror portfolio and ministerial responsibilities.

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