Page 19 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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PRIORITIES REVIEW BOARD
Ministerial Statement
MR KAINE (Chief Minister), by leave: Mr Speaker, I would like today to inform members of the Government's decision to establish a Priorities Review board. It is a fact that is well known to everybody that Commonwealth funding for the ACT has been guaranteed in real terms only for the first two years of the life of self-government - that is, for the period 1989-90 and 1990-91. In June 1991 the Commonwealth ceases its guarantee of funding and for practical purposes we should not assume that any further financial assistance from the Commonwealth will be forthcoming.
Senator Walsh, the Commonwealth Minister for Finance, stated on 14 December 1989 that it was the belief of the Department of Finance that the level of overfunding had reached about $100m. He was referring to a figure of $100m a year. In plain terms for the ACT this means that we have a gap of $100m a year in our funding that has to be eliminated by June 1991, less than a year and a half away.
Determination of a more precise position will depend on the outcome of the current budgetary process within the ACT Administration leading up to next year's budget and of ongoing discussions with the Commonwealth in connection with outstanding financial matters.
It is quite clear that major strategies for dealing with the problem need to be developed now as a matter of urgency. It is for this reason that the Government has established this board. We will be given independent and professional advice on developing our short, medium and long-term financial strategies for the Territory.
The board is an independent committee set up to review the activities of the ACT public sector and it will be reporting to me by 30 June of this year. The committee will be chaired by Mr Bob White, who was, amongst other things, the chief executive of Westpac for 10 years and has had a strong and ongoing interest in the management of large organisations. The experience and expertise that he brings to this review will be invaluable.
The other members of the board are Ms Di Yerbury, who is Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University and Professor of Management; Rear Admiral Ian Crawford, who has recently retired from the Royal Australian Navy after a distinguished career mainly in logistics and supply; Mr George Snow, a prominent local businessman and chairman of the Canberra Association of Regional Development; and Mr Denis Page, managing partner of Ernst and Young, one of the major management consulting firms in Canberra.
The ACT is indeed fortunate to have such an experienced team to undertake this, the most important review to be conducted in the ACT public sector.
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