Page 1895 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 14 June 1994
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MS SZUTY (4.14): In speaking to the report of the Select Committee on the Establishment of an ACT Public Service, it is important for me to remind members that I am the only original committee member left from the committee that was established under the chairmanship of Mr De Domenico on 17 June 1993. I feel, therefore, that I have been able to contribute a perspective to the committee's deliberations on the Bills it has been examining due to my early involvement with the work of the committee.
I would like to quote a passage from Mr De Domenico's speech on the establishment of a select committee on the ACT public service, which was made in the Assembly on 17 June 1993 and is included at page 1 of the committee's report:
... formation of a separate ACT public service is perhaps the most important issue that is going to be faced by this Assembly and perhaps assemblies after this one. The proposal to establish a separate ACT public service needs to take into account ... the financial obligations of the Commonwealth Government, the terms and conditions of employment of current Commonwealth officers and the future entitlements of current employees and future employees of any future ACT public service. The importance of open, detailed and full public consultation on this matter must be recognised ... the opportunity of establishing a highly professional, innovative, flexible and cost-effective public service for the benefit of the ACT community requires input from all interested parties.
The committee was also aware in the early stages of the extensive work being undertaken by the Chief Minister, Ms Follett, the then Minister for Industrial Relations, Mr Berry, the Office of Public Sector Management, and the Trades and Labour Council, representing a number of unions, regarding the transitional arrangements for a new ACT public service. It is a matter of regret to me that the extensive work undertaken by all these people in the early stages regarding the establishment of a separate ACT public service is yet to be finalised and determined. I note this statement from the Chief Minister's speech on the introduction of the Public Sector Management Bill 1994:
In April 1992, the Prime Minister, Mr Keating, wrote to me proposing that the Commonwealth and the Territory commence moves towards establishing a separate ACT public service. His intention was to end the transitional arrangements included in the Commonwealth's 1988 self-government legislation. I was happy to commence the action suggested by the Prime Minister once agreement was reached on several threshold issues, the most vital of which was permanent mobility between the two services. When the Prime Minister acceded to my requests in December 1992, the formal process to create Australia's newest and possibly last public service began.
It has not assisted the committee's deliberations that issues of detail in relation to these major threshold issues between the Commonwealth and ACT public services remain unresolved, and the committee is reporting to the Assembly while these matters are yet to be determined by the Commonwealth Parliament and by the Industrial Relations Commission.
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