Page 2781 - Week 09 - Thursday, 27 September 2007
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MR CORBELL: If you think the Auditor-General is lying, Mr Mulcahy, I suggest that you take that up with her and make that assertion. We can only go on what the Auditor-General said. The Auditor-General said that this did not impact on her audit, did not impact on the evidence relevant to her audit and she was satisfied with the breadth of material available to her to make a full and accurate assessment through the audit process.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question from Mr Pratt.
MR PRATT: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, have you sought assurances and can you assure the Assembly that there is no further information that has been withheld by the ESA? When do you think you might now produce that information? I know it is retrospective, but would you intend to provide it to the Auditor-General? If you have not sought assurances about any outstanding information, will you?
MR CORBELL: I am informed that all relevant information has been provided to the Auditor-General. The ESA did not at any time withhold information from the Auditor-General. That is a slur by Mr Pratt. It suggests some deliberate act to hold back information. That was not, and never was, the case. All information was provided. When further information was identified as being relevant that had not been provided, it was provided.
But, as I indicated before, the lack of proper recordkeeping and the lack of proper storage of files under the administration of the former authority was the cause of the failure to provide some information at the beginning of the audit process. As the Auditor-General has indicated, all relevant information was provided to her for the purposes of her audit. She was satisfied with that and she did not believe in any way that her audit was compromised.
Mr Pratt: I do not think that view is universally accepted, minister.
MR CORBELL: I know it is not accepted by Mr Dunn.
Mr Pratt: I am not talking about Mr Dunn.
MR CORBELL: There are no surprises there.
Budget
MR MULCAHY: My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, will the government introduce a second appropriation bill in this financial year?
MR STANHOPE: That is a decision for the cabinet and a decision that has not yet been taken. In the course of government, any government considers a range of possibilities and options. At this stage the government has taken no decision to introduce a second appropriation bill. Certainly, along with a million other considerations the government takes every year, I would not rule in or rule out anything.
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