Page 284 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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The proposal we have from Mr Coe is unfortunately undermined by his own actions. Mr Coe says that he wants an additional two public hearings every year and, in addition to those public hearings, unlimited time available potentially through estimates and annual reports. But he is the same man who has not even asked for a briefing from the officials who are charged with delivering this project. We simply cannot take his assertions as genuine or sincere.
Madam Speaker, I am proposing an amendment, and I have circulated that to members. I am proposing that, instead of the proposal put forward by Mr Coe, to address his concerns—and perhaps we might even be able to line up an opportunity for Mr Coe to bump into the project director so that he gets a chance to ask a question, seeing how reluctant he has already been to do it to date—this Assembly agrees that at both the annual reports hearings and at the estimates hearings the relevant standing or select committee provide for a period of at least two hours to question the Capital Metro Agency, if that is required by the committee.
That is a minimum guarantee that the government is prepared to suggest to members—at least two hours in each of those already scheduled hearings—and that, in addition, officials from the agency and the relevant minister be available for an additional 3½ hours during this year for a further public hearing to discuss and answer questions on the project.
I think that with all of that in place, on top of what I have already outlined, we might just be able to facilitate an opportunity for Mr Coe to ask questions of those officials who are charged with actually delivering this project. Indeed, we might even be able to compel Mr Coe, in perhaps some gentle way, to acknowledge that it would be in his interests to ask for a briefing from officials rather than remain in the studied ignorance that we see from him to date. I move the amendment circulated in my name to Mr Coe’s motion:
Omit paragraphs (2) and (3), substitute:
“(2) agrees that:
(a) at both the annual reports hearings and the estimates hearings, the relevant standing or select committee provide for a period of at least 2 hours to question the Capital Metro Agency, if required; and
(b) officials from the Capital Metro Agency and relevant Ministers should be available for an additional 3.5 hours in 2014 for a public hearing before the Standing Committee on Planning, Environment and Territory and Municipal Services to discuss the Capital Metro project.”.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Housing, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Ageing) (12.17): I thank Mr Coe for raising this motion. As I have said before, I am very keen for the capital metro project to be open and transparent. There is no benefit for anyone in hiding this project from scrutiny. I want the project to be robust; I want all the questions to have been asked,
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