Page 3248 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992

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contribution that ordinary people can make in the process of normal daily living. I believe that the report by the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment has made some very positive proposals in this regard. I have been very pleased to be a party to it.

There are many aspects of renewable energy that are still not viable economically to implement commercially, such as the replacement of fuel for motor vehicles and commercial volumes of renewable electricity generation. However, there are some quite viable technologies now available that provide for a mix of renewable sources of energy with conventional sources. This not only will improve efficiencies in an economic sense but also provides for some exciting improvement in pollution reduction and waste management.

Of course, any merging of renewable and alternative energy resources with conventional energy now ultimately makes for a more viable transition to total use of alternatives in the future. Bearing in mind the long lead times for gearing up to alternatives, these gradual processes make a lot of sense. There are also the exciting possibilities of combining alternative energy resources such as wind and solar. I had the fortune of seeing at first hand some very promising developments in the use of windmills in Europe. As I said before, my former homeland, the Netherlands, probably was one of the early countries to use windmills. With those few comments I support the report and commend it to the Assembly. I was very pleased to be part of the team.

Debate (on motion by Mr Kaine) adjourned.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS - STANDING COMMITTEE
Statement by Presiding Member

MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition): I seek leave to make a statement concerning the consideration by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts of the Auditor-General's Report No. 3 of 1992.

Leave granted.

MR KAINE: Under the terms of the resolution establishing the Public Accounts Committee, the committee is required to examine all reports of the Auditor-General that are laid before the Assembly. On 8 September, Madam Speaker, you presented to the Assembly the Auditor-General's Report No. 3 for 1992, which is the Auditor-General's annual management report for the year ended 30 June 1992. The committee has agreed that I, as presiding member, should simply make a statement on the committee's examination of this report.

Audit Report No. 3 is the annual report of the Government Audit Office and it includes a general report on each efficiency audit conducted during the year to 30 June 1992, showing the cost of the audit and the benefits that the Auditor-General believes have been derived from that audit.

The committee has examined the Auditor-General's report and notes the matters that he has raised, particularly that negotiations have commenced to move to a system whereby all auditees will pay audit fees for their regularity audits, and that he has proposed that the office's financial arrangements should operate through a trust account. The committee is of the view that no further investigation of the matters raised in that report is warranted.


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