Page 3290 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012

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I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

I present the government’s response to the report of the Select Committee on Estimates 2012-2013. I wish to thank the committee and its support staff for its report on the appropriation bill.

The committee’s main report has been prepared within a short time frame. The government appreciates the effort that has been made by the committee and its secretariat. Further, the government would like to extend its appreciation to the chair of the committee for her professional leadership. The government respects and values the critical role played by the Select Committee on Estimates in scrutinising its proposed expenditure.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the Centre for International Economics for its efforts and time put into providing an independent view of the 2012-13 ACT budget and other important aspects of the budget.

The estimates committee presents 151 recommendations. In conjunction with the independent adviser’s report, it effectively canvasses a large range of issues in the budget. I will not take the Assembly’s time now, at this late hour, to work through each of the select committee’s recommendations; they are separately discussed in the document I have just tabled.

The government has generally accepted or noted the majority of recommendations included in the committee’s report. In our response, the government has agreed to 37 recommendations; agreed in principle to 31 recommendations; noted 63 recommendations; and not agreed to 23 recommendations. I note that three of the committee recommendations contained two parts, for which separate recommendations have been provided, so the numbers do not quite add up.

In the instances where recommendations were not agreed, the government has taken the time to assess what is being asked for. The government has not agreed to several of the recommendations on the basis that the suggested change or service is already sufficiently catered for or provided; detailed analysis or reviews have already been undertaken on the issues raised; or all information requested is available in the various reports either provided to the committee or publicly available. It has been assessed that additional work or service provision in this regard will not be duplicated. Additionally, in some cases the response to the recommendation and existing policies appropriately addressed the issue being raised.

In relation to other recommendations not agreed, it has been generally considered that the recommendations have been resolved through other mechanisms; do not align with current legislative practice or existing policy intent; are covered by alternative processes that are already underway; have privacy issues that may be associated; reserve previous government decisions; or are subject to future budgetary decisions of government. The reasons for each departure from the recommendations is detailed in each individual response.


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