Page 2982 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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quite some time ago, moved to change either the terms of reference or the composition of the Public Accounts Committee. They have not done that, and I assume that we generally agree that the standing committee is quite capable of doing this kind of thing. Why are we having a standing committee doing the same job as a select committee? It makes no sense.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! It being 45 minutes after the commencement of Assembly business, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 77.
Motion (by Mr Berry) agreed to:
That the time allotted to Assembly business be extended by 30 minutes.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, I will sit down after I have simply reiterated my plea to members, particularly on the cross benches, not to cooperate in this process being brought forward by the Government effectively to neuter the already well-established processes which the Assembly has worked with for nearly six years now to thoroughly - and I mean "thoroughly" - scrutinise the affairs of the government agencies and departments. It has to be one of our primary responsibilities as members of this place to engage in that thorough analysis. This second tier process of estimates, which is what it is, is there to do that job; and it is a great pity, I think, that we should be drawing that task apart and reducing its effectiveness by this process.
If members cannot see the continuation of the Estimates Committee, which has already done this work in its first stage - it is ready to go to the second stage of this work - if we cannot trust that committee to do that second stage of the work, then at the very least we should let the body already established by this Assembly to do that job actually have this reference, and not set up another select committee to do the job of an already existing standing committee of the Assembly.
MR KAINE (11.31): Madam Speaker, I would just like to speak in support of Mr Humphries's amendment. It has long been of concern to me that much of what the estimates committees have established themselves in practice to do has cut across the work for which the Public Accounts Committee was in fact established. I was quite happy when it was proposed and Ms Szuty attempted to justify this Government's present motion to adopt a different tack than to continue with the Estimates Committee. But the matter was debated at some length in the Estimates Committee, and I believe that the transcript will show that I raised the point then as to whether or not the work that this second phase of the Estimates Committee was expected to do was not the responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee. But my voice was not heard. The majority of the Estimates Committee thought that the Estimates Committee in its form at that time should be reconvened, as Mr Humphries suggested, to continue on the investigation of the estimates.
Mr De Domenico: In fact, Ms Szuty agreed to that, too.
MR KAINE: The transcript, I think, is pretty conclusive. Since it was the wish of the majority of the members of the Assembly that they should be involved through the Estimates Committee in making the Government accountable, I let my objections pass.
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