Page 1154 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2009
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Although the committee was very pleased with the prompt responses we had received to most questions taken on notice, there were still, unfortunately, some outstanding at the time of finalising the report. So in recommendation 15 the committee recommends that all outstanding questions taken on notice be provided to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts prior to debate of the third appropriation bill.
In recommendation 16, the committee recommends that the Legislative Assembly pass the Appropriation Bill 2008-2009 (No 3).
Finally, I would like to say that a report like this does not come into existence without hard work and cooperation by a number of people. The first of these that I would like to thank is the committee’s secretary, Andrea Cullen, who has done an absolutely magnificent job in getting such a detailed report together in such a short period of time. I would also like to thank my committee colleagues, Ms Burch and Mr Smyth, for their cooperation and hard work. I was very pleased at the large amount of the report that we were able to agree to, while noting that Ms Burch has put in some additional comments on the matter. I would also like to thank all the ministers and their staff who provided their time and cooperation at very short notice, and, of course, the Committee Office.
I commend this report to the Assembly, and I think it is possible that my committee colleagues may also wish to comment on it.
MS BURCH (Brindabella) (10.15): Firstly, I would like to note that I fully support the substantive recommendation of the report—that the Assembly pass the Appropriation Bill 2008-2009 (No 3).
I support the appropriation bill, as tabled, because it provides additional investment in the buildings and facilities that are used to provide services to our community, and it gets the important work done now, rather than waiting for the next budget or thereafter.
The projects outlined in the appropriation bill were assessed against six key criteria. In summary, these included that the work would provide a measure of job support to the local industry; that it extends the useful life or improves the life of our own asset base; that we utilise the potential emerging capacity in the building and construction sector; that projects be at a mature stage of design and/or procurement to enable the works to begin as soon as possible; and that once they were commenced they be undertaken and completed on time and on budget.
In broader terms, I make the following comments. The recent shifts in the national and international economic environment are well recognised and accepted. The ACT Labor government supports the commonwealth government’s national stimulus package and is working in partnership with the commonwealth to facilitate coordinated delivery and, as such, maximise benefit to the ACT community.
The ACT Labor government has responded in a timely manner to local requirements and expectations, and that underpins the projects underlined in this bill. The bill sets
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