Page 174 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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MADAM SPEAKER: Before I put that question, you will recall that back in 2017 we made changes to standing order 213A which, in a sense, were to provide more time and consideration for members. 213A(a) says:
A Member may lodge a notice of motion seeking the Assembly to order a document or documents to be tabled in the Assembly. If agreed to, the Clerk …
It goes on to talk about the process with that. That order was put in to ensure that consideration and timeliness of some of these matters were allowed. In response, Mrs Dunne, you accepted the potential need for that, but you also went on to say that a motion to suspend standing orders or seeking leave on the floor were also possible in that regard. I remind everybody that we have had an extensive review. This is quite a serious matter. But the Assembly is always in the hands of the Assembly. Mrs Dunne, you have sought leave to move that motion?
MRS DUNNE: I am still seeking leave.
Leave granted.
MRS DUNNE: I move:
That, in accordance with standing order 213A, the Assembly orders the tabling of the options paper for the SPIRE Project discussed by officers of Major Projects Canberra and Canberra Health Services in November 2019 and referred to in the public release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (reference request 1977).
This motion is quite straightforward. It calls on the government to prepare for tabling the documents that were referred to in question time and were redacted from freedom of information request 1977, from the health department, that I received earlier this year.
The minister has said, and the department has said, that there are reasons why these should be redacted, but this standing order creates a mechanism for an independent person to determine whether or not that information should or should not be provided to the Assembly.
It is now a well-travelled path. Standing order 213A is an initiative of the Greens. I think that, over time, it has been used quite well. The application of this has developed. I commend the motion to the Assembly. It calls for the government to prepare and provide the documents as outlined in the motion. If the government finds that they are privileged, there is a mechanism in the standing order to deal with that.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Health, Minister for Urban Renewal) (3.17): I thank Mrs Dunne for the motion. The government will not be opposing this motion. Mrs Dunne is right; this is the appropriate way of having consideration. The considerations in relation to this matter are different and are made in a different context than decisions made by my officials
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