Page 2718 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
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and use this opportunity to address those in relation to which the committee requested further information prior to the passage of the Appropriation Bill for 1989-90.
However, before doing so, Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to address a number of general issues contained in the report. The committee comments on the need for future budget documentation to be presented in a clearer and more "user friendly" format, along with the need to provide greater detail in support of expenditure proposals. The experience we all have gained in this, the first year of self-government for the ACT, provides a basis on which we can further develop and refine the whole range of budget information.
The Government will be undertaking a review of the format and information provided and welcomes the comments and suggestions made by the committee. These will be taken into consideration as part of the review.
Part of the additional information the committee believes to be necessary to examine fully program expenditures is the availability of performance indicators. The Government accepts the usefulness of these tools in evaluating program performance and agrees these should be available at the time of Estimates Committee hearings.
As agencies are at different stages and levels of development of program management, my department, in conjunction with the Treasury, is actively supporting agency efforts to develop a more systematic approach to program management and performance monitoring. The Government is confident that for the 1990-91 budget the committee will see a significant improvement in this area.
In a number of areas the committee recommends the provision of additional financial reporting to the Assembly. The Government accepts a number of these. As to others, there are legislative and administrative issues that need to be addressed in some detail before the proposals can be fully implemented.
Mr Speaker, the committee requested that details of refund arrangements for contributors to the ACT ambulance service be available prior to the passage of the Appropriation Bill. I am pleased to say that arrangements are in place to ensure that pro rata refunds are issued to people currently contributing to the ACT ambulance scheme. Full details are provided in the response that I will table shortly. I believe that this response satisfies the committee's request.
The committee also sought a notional list of projects within the forward design program. Given the significant capital expenditures we face over the next few years in such areas as land development and the hospital redevelopment strategy and given the Government's commitment to debt containment, an intensive examination of
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