Page 2779 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006
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into service. There are a lot of questions about that. With the trunk radio network, we continue to see the old VHF network still being used. I think the minister is saying that the TRN is near to being fully operational. We hope he is right. We want to see that up and running as soon as possible. We deeply suspect that there has been a significant wastage in the communications area.
We think that in ESA a lot of good money is being wasted on consultancies, too many toy-boy projects and the failure to maintain simplicity and reliability. There is definitely the need for an inquiry into communications programs expenditure in the ESA. I hope the minister expedites that sooner or later. I think the minister has said that he certainly is interested to examine how those issues are being managed. We will watch, minister, what you do about that.
I have talked today in the TAMS debate about resources for bushfire hazard reduction along the urban edge and further out. I will not repeat that here now, but we remain deeply concerned about that, as we are about the lack of a concrete, strategic bushfire management plan and BOPs for all vulnerable areas, not just a couple of generic ones. We are concerned that ESA and police budgets need to be ramped up.
MR MULCAHY (Molonglo) (1.37 am): I am sensitive to the hour and have avoided speaking on a few items, but I make a few comments on this appropriation for justice. I focus on a couple of areas of interest. As Mr Pratt and Mr Stefaniak have pointed out, we see, in relation to these ongoing reorganisations, the profound observation by the CEO of the department of justice who prophesised:
… since funding and efficiencies needed to be looked at across the whole of government it was important to ensure that the public service is also using public funding as efficiently as possible.
We would have liked to have seen that happen many years ago. If we did, we may not be now facing the tax charges we are all going to have to wear.
In relation to information technology services, I noticed that JACS is to save about $1.241 million this year and progressively greater amounts each year into the future. We are told these savings will be achieved by “working with InTACT to consolidate and more efficiently use IT systems and services”. But it will be interesting to see whether those efficiencies are, in fact, generated as we go forward.
I also focus on another issue with JACS which has already been signalled tonight, and that is the matter of funding for the Director of Public Prosecutions to allow for the recruitment of additional quality staff to cope with demand for prosecutions and allow for the smooth operation of the court system. The Attorney-General said during estimates:
We … know that there are challenges in terms of recruitment and retaining staff of a sufficient level of expertise and experience to prosecute cases. So the government wants to ensure the DPP has an improved level of resourcing to meet these challenges.
This is a problem I have been aware of for quite some time. It has been raised in the context of other inquiries and discussions. Although the government in this budget has
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