Page 1061 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020
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place, exacerbated by poor record keeping. We should not be relying on the memories of the people involved. That is the whole point about record keeping; it is about accountable and transparent government. It is about dealing with public moneys and public assets in a transparent and accountable way. In my view, this did not happen with this particular transaction.
I would like very much to express my appreciation to Dr Brian Lloyd and other committee personnel, and to Mrs Dunne, the chair, who put in an enormous amount of work—Ms Cheyne as well, and Ms Cody, as members of the committee. There were issues with some of the technology, including a lack of appropriate hardware in Assembly provided material, which, in fact, at times made the deliberations of the committee more complex and more stressful than they needed to be. I hope that the Assembly is addressing those issues because we should be able to undertake these committee hearings by virtual means. It has worked quite well in a number of instances that I have been a part of.
About seven years ago, when I first joined the Assembly, I went onto the PAC committee. I was very fortunate to have the benefit of the experience and advice of two people that I will name. The first was Brendan Smyth, who had been a member of the Assembly for quite a long period of time and was a very experienced committee chair. The second person was Dr Andrea Cullen, an enormously knowledgeable, experienced and well-read committee secretary. They explained to me the role of committees. I have always said to people who visit the Assembly and who ask me about my work as a politician or a parliamentarian how important the work of committees is.
It was explained to me—and it is something that I have always tried to keep in mind when I walk through the door to attend a committee meeting—that it is not about politics; it is about being a parliamentarian and being accountable to the people of the ACT and your fellow Assembly members. You are supposed to leave your political allegiance at the door. Occasionally, there are very well known and understood reasons why this is not the case. Estimates is probably the most logical example of that.
I talk to school groups, University of the Third Age and other groups who visit the Assembly, and I have always spoken about the non-partisan, bipartisan or tripartisan approach of committees to their work. I used to say that members of committees took their responsibilities seriously. I do not think I can say that anymore. I am pretty sad, as someone who has been a member of a range of different committees, that in seven years I have never seen such disrespect for the role of committees. Unlike Ms Cody, I can no longer say that I am a proud member of this committee, because I am not. I am deeply saddened by what happened with this particular report.
This report, as Mrs Dunne mentioned, could have been finalised weeks ago, but some members of the committee, quite rightly, were putting forward very well-researched, well-considered suggestions for changes to the report. Mrs Dunne, especially, took a very consensual view to incorporating those comments and suggestions. But I do not feel that some members of the committee were honest and upfront about their intentions during this process. That is exactly what deliberations are. That is exactly
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