Page 1743 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
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Thursday, 10 May 2018
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms J Burch) took the chair at 10 am and asked members to stand in silence and pray or reflect on their responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.
Public Accounts—Standing Committee
Reporting date
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (10.01), by leave: I move:
That the resolution of the Assembly of 15 February 2018 referring the papers relating to methodology for determining rates and land tax for strata residences to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for inquiry and report be amended by omitting the words “last sitting day in May 2018” and substituting “last sitting day in September 2018”.
Just briefly, Madam Speaker and members, this has become necessary. In the first place, the reference by Mr Coe was a little on the—
Mr Rattenbury: Ambitious side?
MRS DUNNE: Thank you; that was the word I was looking for. Absolutely: the ambitious side. Also, taking into account the number of hearings that are scheduled during May this year already and the privileges inquiry into matters associated with this report, the committee has determined that it will report, at the very latest, by September 2018. There has been discussion in the committee about, hopefully, doing that earlier.
I had asked that this resolution also include the provision for reporting out of session, but I was advised that that was not a good thing to do at this stage and that if we needed to do it later in June, we could do that. I am not quite sure whether I understood the advice, but it was a bit late in the day to argue backwards and forwards, so at this stage we are proposing a reporting date of the last sitting day in September, and the committee has resolved internally to try and finalise the report before then. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (10.04): As Mrs Dunne has stated, we have been in furious debate over the last little while about extending the time frame for this inquiry. I note that this matter was sent to the PAC for inquiry back in February this year by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Coe. Since that time there have been many scheduled meetings that have been unable to go ahead due to members not making themselves available to meet, particularly members of the opposition. I understand that there was a motion to look at the privileges side of some of the things surrounding that committee, but part of bringing together the privileges committee and setting up the privileges committee was that we did not want to hold up the important work that this inquiry by the PAC looking into rates has to do.
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