Page 167 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 May 1989
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I believe that we have to proceed now, Mr Speaker, to appoint a committee to deal specifically with these matters because of the importance that all of the major parties here present placed on these matters during their election campaigns and in their policies that they now hope to implement in this Assembly, and secondly because of the increasing public perception that these are matters of major importance. I think we would be remiss if we did not make it clear, by establishing a committee specifically to deal with them, that we regard these matters as being at the top of the agenda and not at the bottom of the agenda.
Members will note that in this case I have mentioned a committee of only three members. I believe that, as we appoint more and more members to committees, the resources of the members will become stretched in keeping up with committee activities. I think that a membership of three, if it represents the major parties of the Assembly, is probably adequate for this purpose. However, I am prepared to have an amendment, if members think fit, to increase the numbers on the committee. My mind is not fixed on the number of members. This proposal is merely an attempt to minimise the impact of committees on individual members.
I recognise that it represents a further staffing problem for the Government. Every committee that we establish will have to have resources made available to it. But I believe that these matters are of such significance and of such major importance that we must deal with them, even if that means some additional resource commitment on the part of the Government to staff and support this committee. I seek the Assembly's endorsement of the establishment of this important and major committee.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister) (12.04): I wish to oppose the motion put forward by Mr Kaine, and I acknowledge that he has already put most of my arguments. We must acknowledge that we have a very small body in this Assembly and that we have already created three standing committees, plus the Business Committee for this Assembly; that we have already created this morning a select committee to look at the casino; and that it is my expectation that we will create this afternoon a select committee to look at occupational health and safety legislation. That is a total of six committees already standing, for which we have 17 members, four of whom are Ministers and one of whom is Mr Speaker. It leaves us with 13 members to service six committees. I put it to the Assembly that that is a pretty heavy workload and that it might be better to look at a rather more streamlined approach to committees.
It is also, as Mr Kaine has pointed out, quite an imposition upon the Assembly's resources, in terms of staffing, research and so on, for this number of committees to be serviced. I think that is something that Assembly members should be aware of. We have given the commitment to operate in a lean and efficient manner, and a proliferation of committees is not consistent with that approach. Therefore, I am obliged to oppose the motion.
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