Page 3041 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 September 2006
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MR HARGREAVES: In response to the supplementary question—and it is only a half-sensible question—the fact is that Mr Pratt refuses to understand that the conversations that we have been having with bus drivers through their union have been on a whole range of issues over an enormous length of time. There has been substantial agreement on all of the issues bar one.
As I said in this place yesterday, the stop-work and its effect on the community of Canberra are deeply regretted by the government. I stand by that. The government has absolutely no ownership of the disruption. In fact, the government was quite supportive of the union taking the first two stop-work meetings and undertook extensive consultation to make sure the community was not disadvantaged. Without that notice yesterday morning, we were unable to announce it. I reject the notion that the government is responsible for any disruption.
I reject the notion that we are not in a decent partnership with the bus drivers through the union over the changes which will be introduced in ACTION, some details of which I announced yesterday. In fact, the relationship that the government has with the Transport Workers Union is healthy and is based on a reasonable amount of trust and certainly a significant amount of transparency and openness, something with which these people are not acquainted.
Rhodium Asset Solutions Ltd
MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Chief Minister and Treasurer. Chief Minister, in question time yesterday you sought to criticise the ACT Auditor-General for not consulting you as a voting shareholder in Rhodium. Paragraph 1.16 of the report on Rhodium—and this is fairly standard in most reports—states:
In accordance with section 18 of the Auditor-General Act 1996, a final draft of this report was provided to the Chief Executive of the Department of Treasury …
Treasurer, did your Chief Executive mention to you or discuss with you the contents of the auditor’s final draft report on Rhodium? If so, what feedback did you provide on the content of this report?
MR STANHOPE: The auditor did provide the final draft of the report to the Under Treasurer. I was aware of the final draft report. The Under Treasurer responded. Of course, the Under Treasurer’s responses to the draft final are included in the final, as are those of the board. Indeed, some comments of the immediate past chief executive officer are incorporated within the draft final report.
I did not seek to criticise the Auditor-General at all in my comments yesterday. That is simply a spin that you are creating today for your own purposes. I, in response to questions that sought to suggest disingenuously and misleadingly that the Auditor-General had drawn a nexus between—
Mrs Dunne: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Chief Minister has asserted that questions yesterday were designed to mislead. I think that should be withdrawn.
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