Page 2509 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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I thank Ms Porter for bringing this matter here today. I support the motion, and I hope those here do.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (5.19), in reply: I would like to thank all members for their contribution to this debate today. As I said during my earlier comments, this is an important move by the federal government to recognise the benefit that can be delivered from a national compact which will not only strengthen the commonwealth government and the not-for-profit sector but also lead to cooperation and collaboration in relation to development of policy not only with regard to the third sector but across the government.
I should have remembered that Ms Hunter has an intimate knowledge of the process that brought together the first compact and the subsequent social compact. It seemed a long time ago that we all sat around those tables together and deliberated for what seemed to be many months—I am not quite sure I can remember anymore how many months.
I would like to thank Mrs Dunne for her support, Mr Doszpot for his support and also Ms Burch and Mr Stanhope. I just wondered whether Mrs Dunne has the same understanding as I do of what the proposed compact is and what the ACT social compact is. It is an agreement—not something imposed on the not-for-profit sector. I made reference to the work that went on for that considerable length of time—as I said, I think for many months—to allow the sector and the government equal opportunity to have input into the final set of agreements. I recommend to anyone here that has not had a chance to read the social compact in full and in detail to take the opportunity to do that, because it makes very interesting reading and I think that it would reassure people that it is about an agreement and not about imposition.
I do want to reflect a little bit more on the breadth of the not-for-profit sector in that I believe that it is more, as Ms Burch said, than services for people who are disadvantaged, although of course that is extremely important. Sport is the second largest not-for-profit sector behind the community services sector. Emergency services are critical. I think we all agree after the recent bushfires in Victoria, our experience here in 2003 and the flood experience in Queensland and northern New South Wales recently, that they are critical. Many people are involved in protecting and maintaining the natural and built environment and our heritage, and of course not forgetting to mention the arts—we could go on with a huge list of organisations.
In the ACT, as Ms Burch said, we are dedicated to fostering a city in which the community sector and the government work together to ensure that all members of the community can contribute to and share the benefits of the community. As I said earlier, our commitment to work together is set out in the ACT’s social compact, which articulates the shared understanding about the relationship between the ACT community sector and the government, outlines principles and undertakings that underpin the relationship between the two sectors and provides a framework for strengthening this relationship between the government and the community sector. I am pleased that Ms Burch reflected on the strong relationship between the community sector and the government. Of course, these arrangements need to be continually monitored to remain strong.
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