Page 1992 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
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There are two aspects to the answer to the question. If the Commonwealth Grants Commission could have its terms of reference changed for the inquiry which it is about to undertake - and my understanding is that that report is due in March of next year - I suppose it is arguable that the Grants Commission might accept an amendment of its terms of reference in this case to take on this unusual task as part of its annual assessment. Assuming that it reported in March, it would be most unlikely that the Commonwealth would deal with that report before the end of the fiscal year in June, which would mean that we would be going into the 1991-92 fiscal year without the faintest idea of what revenues would flow to the ACT from the Commonwealth. We would be in an impossible situation because we would not know how much we could expect to receive as a result of that review.
The other thing that could be done is that we could ask the Minister, since she has raised the question, to make a special referral to the Commonwealth Grants Commission that it conduct a special inquiry into the assets and debt position of the ACT - the capital aspects of our situation. We would need a response much earlier than the March deadline, however. I would suspect that the Grants Commission would find it impossible to take on two simultaneous inquiries in connection with the ACT at once and to report on either investigation in sufficient time for us to know what our financial situation going into the fiscal year beginning July 1991 would be. My guess would be that in either case we would not know what our financial position going into that fiscal year would be and in either case that would be disastrous for our budgeting.
Sale of School Sites
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Speaker, my question is directed to Mr Humphries in his capacity as Minister for Education. Mr Humphries, when school sites are sold after their closure, will the sale include the green space adjoining schools; that is, the playing fields and parks which form part of the school precincts?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, it is not really a question that is appropriately directed towards me. I am certainly responsible for schools as schools but not for the disposal of disused or decommissioned school buildings. I think that question should more appropriately be addressed to another Minister, probably the Chief Minister in these circumstances.
MR CONNOLLY: By way of a supplementary question, can it be answered by any Minister on the front bench?
MR SPEAKER: I will not allow that question.
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