Page 733 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 July 1989
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MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (4.20): Mr Speaker, I do not want to say a great deal on the subject. It is clearly a matter that the Public Accounts Committee should look at and, as chairman of that committee, I look forward to looking into it. The audit arrangements for the ACT are at the moment temporary, in that the Commonwealth Auditor-General has agreed to continue to provide an audit service until such time as we make our own arrangements.
I understand that he has some reservations about that because he can see the possibility of doing an audit and finding himself in conflict with his two roles, one as Auditor-General for the Commonwealth and the other as auditor for the ACT. It would be unfortunate if we were to put the Commonwealth Auditor-General in that position. So it is clear that we do have to set up our own audit arrangements.
I note that the reference refers to principles. It does not require us to come up with a comprehensive report. I believe that principles can be fairly readily defined. Indeed, yesterday, I mentioned a number of principles arising from Liberal Party policy in connection with the financial arrangements that we believe should apply to the Territory. I think there were only six in number, and so it is not a difficult matter for a group of people to sit down and determine what the principles that should govern the audit legislation for the ACT ought to be.
I might ask the Chief Minister to be a little more explicit, and I guess it is just in the way the words are run together. When I read this reference first, I saw it as two parts - one to deal with principles relating to financial administration and the other to look at principles relating to audit legislation. Now, after what she has said in introducing the motion, I am not sure whether that ought not be a single statement of financial administration and audit legislation. So perhaps I could speak to her outside the house on that matter and just be clear on what it is that she is asking the Public Accounts Committee to do, but it is clearly something that is within the ambit of the committee and we will be happy to undertake that study.
MR COLLAERY (4.22): My comments will be brief. The Liberal leader has indicated that the Public Accounts Committee is the appropriate place for the examination of principles related to appropriate financial administration, and no doubt the Public Accounts Committee is that place, but that it will draw upon - and I understand that Mr Kaine is familiar with these issues - the lessons learned elsewhere. Hopefully it will draw upon the reforms made in the public accounting processes in, as I understand it, Victoria and New South Wales in recent years.
Mr Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the Assembly to the terms of reference of the committee, which include that the PAC can report to the Assembly with such
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