Page 288 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
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The Secretariat has commenced research on eight projects, and it is hoped to have the research completed before the end of 2009. The papers produced as part of the research will be placed on the Parliamentary Studies Centre website, and it is envisaged that some of the more noteworthy papers will be featured in a book on the whole project. It is hoped that the research will highlight some of the innovations and strengths that the ACT Legislative Assembly has in relation to parliamentary democracy.
In relation to the specifics of the motion that I am moving today, the Assembly is the only jurisdiction in Australia that enables the legislature to scrutinise statutory appointments made by ministers. It has had this system in place since the Assembly passed the Statutory Appointments Act 1994 in 1994. As shown in the Secretariat’s annual report that I tabled on Tuesday, Assembly committees examined 149 statutory appointments last financial year.
The method that the Legislation Act 2001 sets out for the process means that only the individual committee and the individual minister proposing the appointment know about the appointment, what comments were made and whether the committee agreed or disagreed with the proposed appointment. The only documentation for this process is held with either the individual committee or the individual minister.
Whilst committees are able to access records of previous committees, no-one else is able to examine this process across all the committees. It is for this reason that I am moving the motion today. Should the Assembly pass the motion, I believe it will shed some light on what is a unique process in a parliamentary democracy. I commend my motion to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Climate Change, Environment and Water—Standing Committee
Reference
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.59): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) expert scientific evidence confirms that human activity is causing a significant increase in global temperatures, which will have a dramatic impact on the sustainability of existing ecological systems and human settlements;
(b) climate change is one of the greatest economic, social and environmental challenges facing the ACT community, and must be addressed accordingly and that it is imperative that the ACT moves to a low carbon future both swiftly and equitably;
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