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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 2985 ..

Financial Management Act, pursuant to section 13—Appropriation Bill 2004-2005—Supplementary budget papers 2004-2005 Appropriation.

The amendments that I shall move tonight, and there are several, are all associated with additional funding for child protection and the reorientation of money to the Office of Children, Youth and Family Support within the Chief Minister’s Department. Unless there is an objection to them in any way, I will just move them without ceremony as we go through—if nobody has a problem with that.

Mr Pratt: Mr Speaker, I presume I can talk to the line item in general?

MR SPEAKER: No. You are speaking to the amendment.

MR QUINLAN: Agree with the amendment and then we will talk about the line item—unless you have a problem with the amendment.

MR SPEAKER: We will come to the line item.

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (11.48): The government’s amendment breaks down the existing line 1.19, Department of Education, Youth and Family Services, into Department of Education and Training and inserts a new part 1.19A, Office for Children, Youth and Family Support. Unless I missed it when it was before the Estimates Committee, I do not think this money has been through the estimates process. I am not sure how much warning the Assembly has been given and whether or not this could have been brought up in the estimates process and given the proper scrutiny. I think that is the appropriate way; that is what should have happened. That being said, the money is going to address issues within child protection. I suspect, with that, the opposition will support the amendment.

MS DUNDAS (11.49): It was a concern of members in the Estimates Committee that they were not able to see the amendments so that they could be considered in the context of the estimates process, even though we made that request of the ministers when they appeared. I understand that it does take a bit of time to set up a new $6 million office, but it would have been useful to have some analysis of how this was being broken down—which bits were staying in the Department of Education and Training, which bits were moving into the new office, the staff make-up across those two areas and the support the Chief Minister’s Department will be providing.

The Vardon report recommended only a transitional phase. At the end of six months we will have a new Office for Children, Youth and Family Support. There were a number of questions, specifically in relation to these amendments, that the Estimates Committee was not able to put forward. In that sense, there are still a lot of questions floating around. We will be supporting this amendment. The Democrats are in favour of the establishment of the new office but it would have been good and wise to be able to provide greater scrutiny into how this is being done.

Amendment agreed to.

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