Page 1881 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 June 2021
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• provide an independent view to the ACT Legislative Assembly and the community on the accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of the ACT Public Sector;
• foster accountability in the public administration of the Territory; and
• promote the efficiency and effectiveness of public services and programs provided by the Territory.
With the numerous questions about implementation of this scheme—so numerous that the minister tabled a 32-page ministerial statement this morning and prompted the minister to commission what she said is an independent review of the scheme—the Auditor-General is the appropriate office to conduct this full, comprehensive and independent audit.
In question time earlier today the minister confirmed she had commissioned this independent review less than 24 hours ago. Why was it not announced when she commissioned it? She also said in question time that the findings of the review would be made public by the final sitting day this year. She confirmed that again during this debate. But if you have a look at the amendment, there is no mention of that whatsoever. There is no mention of timelines and how the review will be undertaken. If the minister says a review has been commissioned, where are the terms of reference? The minister has refused to provide information the public has every right to know. She says the independent review will answer more questions than what Ms Castley calls for in the motion and yet there is nothing further she can provide to us.
Let us not forget the failure not once, not twice, but three times in trying to implement this scheme. having a minister who refused to answer questions for days, what confidence does the Canberra community have in a so-called independent review that apparently has already been commissioned?
I commend Ms Castley for bringing this very important motion to the Assembly. The Auditor-General is the right office to undertake this full, comprehensive and independent review. If we rely on this government to undertake an independent review, just like how we relied on them to implement this ChooseCBR scheme, then it is the Canberra community that will be let down.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra—Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Business and Better Regulation, Minister for Human Rights and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (3.50): I seek leave to speak again on this motion.
Leave granted.
MS CHEYNE: I am not sure what Ms Lee is trying to get at. If the Auditor-General wishes to conduct an audit into this scheme, I welcome that. But given Ms Lee is the shadow attorney-general, perhaps she should familiarise herself with the Auditor-General Act 1996. Not only should she familiarise herself with that, perhaps she should also familiarise herself with my amendment to the motion which details this. It will detail the appropriate section which she might want to get across—sometime soon I would suggest, and it also details in paragraph (3) exactly what we intend our review to cover.
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