Page 2166 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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It is crucially important that ministers who appear before the estimates committee answer questions to the best of their ability—not waffle and, more particularly than that, obfuscate, refuse to answer questions and make it difficult for the committee. In this estimates committee that did occur.
There are a number of recommendations in this report, including recommendations in the dissenting report, which are quite sensible. The Chief Minister today was quite dismissive of that. I have just picked pages 24 and 25 of the estimates report. For the record I will read out the recommendations on those two pages from the dissenting report. It relates to the executive and a number of issues raised during estimates. In dealing with the skills commission, the recommendation is:
That in the September sittings of the Assembly, the Chief Minister table the Skills Commission’s first series of recommendations and the government’s response to those recommendations.
What is wrong with that? There is another recommendation about consultation with the skills commission:
That before the Skills Commission makes its recommendations to government, its relevant working groups should consult with the Youth Coalition and, if appropriate, other youth representative organisations.
This is eminently sensible. Yet today—in the Chief Minister’s response to the estimates committee and the other additional comments and dissenting reports by Dr Foskey, Mrs Burke and me—we had the same dismissive attitude as that shown at times during this process. We are getting used to this from this arrogant and increasingly out-of-touch and unaccountable government—a government that came in promising to be accountable; promising to consult.
In this part of the report, we have the heading “Per Cent for Arts”. On page 25 there is the following recommendation:
That the ACT Government abolish the percent-for-art scheme.
They have a certain view; we have a certain view. But again what is wrong with that recommendation per se? Here is a further recommendation:
That the ACT Government disclose the details of capital works in the budget including arts projects.
This is eminently sensible. Indeed, it is what you would expect government to do in relation to its budget. Here is a final one in relation to arts grants programs. This is part of the budget and part of the report. It states:
That the ACT Government report on the cost of grant programs, including reporting on the amount of money that is actually given to artists in grants and the total cost of administering the program.
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