Page 1790 - Week 05 - Thursday, 2 April 2009
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MR CORBELL: I did not say that, Mr Speaker. What I said was that the government will be responding to all of these recommendations as quickly as possible, including the ones relating to ecological burns. But I am not in a position today to confirm the time frame in relation to such burns. They require consultation with the land manager who is responsible for undertaking that work. I may stand corrected, but I do not think the commissioner recommended that that needed to occur in this season. I may stand corrected on that; I will check the record. I think the only time-critical recommendations that the commissioner made that were the most immediate and pressing were those relating to culling of kangaroo species. I do not recollect the commissioner recommending that the ecological burn program should commence this autumn. If that is the case then obviously the matter is one that needs to be pursued in the context of this particular time frame. But that is not my recollection of the commissioner’s recommendations. As I say, I will check the record.
Housing—public
MR COE: My question is to the Treasurer, and it relates to the Greens-Labor agreement. Treasurer, one of the agreed policy points of the agreement is to:
Adopt a goal of 10 per cent public housing stock.
Treasurer, has your department provided you with advice as to the cost of this policy and, if so, will you table that advice?
MS GALLAGHER: I welcome the opposition’s interest in the Greens-ALP parliamentary agreement. Elements of the agreement are being costed, particularly in relation to items that we are considering as part of the next budget process.
Mr Hanson: You’ve signed up to it without costings?
MS GALLAGHER: Sorry, I should not respond to the constant interjections from Mr Hanson. The elements of the agreement are being funded as we are pursuing the implementation of the agreement. They are all subject to budget considerations and therefore they are cabinet in confidence. So, no, I will not be tabling that information.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Coe, a supplementary question?
MR COE: Yes. Minister, why are you hiding the cost to the government of this commitment? What is your plan to implement this goal? When will this goal be achieved?
MS GALLAGHER: The parliamentary agreement is an agreement between the Labor Party and the ACT Greens. I do not think I am at all required to inform the Liberal Party of or report around the implementation of that agreement. The elements of the Greens-ALP parliamentary agreement that are appropriated through the budget will be subject to the Liberal Party’s scrutiny through the estimates process. I think it is going to be as open and transparent as any other expenditure from government.
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