Page 4454 - Week 14 - Thursday, 9 December 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
A.C.T. PUBLIC SERVICE - SELECT COMMITTEE
Progress Report
MR DE DOMENICO: Madam Speaker, I ask for leave to make a statement regarding progress of the inquiry by the Select Committee on the Establishment of an ACT Public Service.
Leave granted.
MR DE DOMENICO: Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Assembly of the work thus far undertaken by the committee. I believe that my fellow committee members, Ms Szuty and Mr Lamont, may also wish to speak on the issue. We have not yet consolidated our views as a committee, and the issues we raise today do not reflect a committee view. I shall focus my remarks on matters raised to date during our inquiry.
Madam Speaker, when the select committee was appointed on 17 June, there was general agreement in this chamber that legislating for the creation of an ACT public service was probably one of the most important tasks we will undertake and that the work of the committee should not unduly delay the passage of legislation. Madam Speaker, the work of the committee commenced almost immediately upon the committee's appointment. Late in June inquiries were made of the Public Service Commissioner and other government bodies regarding the establishment of a separate service. These inquiries were general in nature. We sought to establish the broad parameters of the inquiry and to draw on the experience of the Commonwealth Government and of governments interstate.
As a committee, it is important that we carefully balance the experiences of other legislatures and governments against the needs of the ACT, and our inquiries have reflected this need. The committee has sought to canvass public opinion, initially through public advertisements placed in the Canberra Times of 31 July 1993, and in the community newspapers in the week following. The advertisements sought written submissions from interested parties on a range of matters.
Madam Speaker, we were keen to hear opinions on the form and structure of an ACT service. For instance, do we have the right distribution of agency functions? Would we, for example, be best served by a few large agencies or by a larger number of smaller functional groups? We were also interested in opinions on the desirable roles and responsibilities as a separate service. How is it best accountable to the community, to the Government and to the legislature? What improvements to the Westminster system should we be looking to incorporate in our own public service? How central should community consultation be to the code of conduct for our public service? What sorts of transitional arrangements should be put into place? For example, what do we anticipate the evolution of our public service will bring in its first few years - more local functions, more State level functions? How do we manage these changes vis-a-vis the Commonwealth Government and our State and Territory counterparts?
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .