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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2044 ..

drafted in haste and as a result of poor leadership and oversight, and the government has tried to sneak in key appropriations in the hope that the Assembly will gloss over the bill to miss them. This is unacceptable and simply naive, particularly when one appropriation alone amounts to $33.2 million.

While certain appropriations in this bill, like those relating to the Fairbairn hanger disaster, are completely understandable, others are the result of poor ministerial leadership and oversight. This is particularly the case with the housing portfolio and the education, youth and family services portfolios. But don’t take my word for it. Allow me to read some of the committee’s recommendations. Recommendation 3 is:

…that the Minister at the first available opportunity explain to the Assembly why the Assembly was told that the Treasurer’s Advance was being used to fund additional services in child protection, when evidence received by the Committee indicated that the Treasurer’s Advance had not been used at that time.

There seems to be quite a lot of confusion over it all, and at that time much political point scoring was done on the government side of the house, where they were saying we were trying to make something out of it. Why did this money get lumped in with the appropriation bill? There is a note at the beginning of the government response about why we did not—or did—use TA and why we waited—or did not—until the appropriation bill.

Smokescreens and mirrors! It was a very important issue. Couldn’t it and shouldn’t it have been ushered through the system as quickly as possible? I am sure members would not have objected to such a use of TA, given the grave and urgent circumstances. Given the delay of the Vardon report for the third time and the laissez-faire approach to this serious issue, I am left scratching my head as to what on earth the government is doing to give urgent support to workers in the child protection and care sector.

Ms Gallagher: They’re cash managed.

MRS BURKE: You will get your go in a moment, if you want to say something. Yes, this is what you are trying to confuse us all with—saying that that is what you are doing.

Ms Gallagher: It’s pretty empty!

MRS BURKE: No, no. You must think we came down with the last shower.

Ms Gallagher: I do, actually. On this issue I do.

MRS BURKE: Oh, do you?

Ms Gallagher: I’ve still got my umbrella up.

MRS BURKE: Oh, is that right? Mr Speaker, let’s take a look at recommendation 4, which is:

…that the Department of Education, Youth and Family Services review how it collects statistics in relation to substitute care, and assess the adequacy and

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