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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 648 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the Government supports giving the Estimates Committee adequate time to consider the Appropriation Bill. It is in nobody's interest for the Government to attempt to pass a budget which the Assembly has not had adequate time to consider. It is the Government's view, however, that in this case, given that over four full non-sitting weeks are available to the committee for consideration of the budget, sufficient time is available for the estimates procedure.

Mr Speaker, as we are aware, this year the Estimates Committee will look at only the budget in at least the first approach that is taken. There will be some hearings later in the year that will look at such things as the end of year outcomes and the annual reports. When we have had late budgets, of course, the budget and end of year outcomes and annual reports have all been looked at in one go. This will revert to the process that occurred when the previous Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, brought down an early budget and we had a two-stage process. The first was the traditional estimates process and the second approach looked at end of year outcomes and what had happened rather than what was likely to happen with the budget in the future.

I believe, taking into account that there is a two-stage process this year, that the four weeks involved will be appropriate. I do believe it is sensible to appoint the Select Committee on Estimates as early as possible, which is now, so that it can have adequate briefings on the format of the budget, all the sorts of things that it wants to know, shall we say, in the next three weeks between now and when the budget comes down. We believe that means that the Estimates Committee will be in a position to go straight into estimates hearings on the budget if it feels so inclined. We think that is an appropriate way to go. That is the reason, Mr Speaker, why we wanted to pass this motion as early in this week as possible - to give as much time as possible for the Estimates Committee to get on with the job of potentially asking for supplementary information, if that is what they are after, or making sure that various parts of the information are available. Mr Speaker, I commend the motion to the Assembly. I am confident that the Estimates Committee, as always, will do a great job.

MR BERRY (10.41): Mr Speaker, the Opposition will be supporting this motion in principle. However, I foreshadow an amendment which is on the printer as we speak. It has been hurriedly devised to give the following effects: To ensure that the annual reports for the financial year 1996-97 are considered by this Estimates Committee, and that the reporting date is extended in order that the committee can have a longer period than proposed by the Government for consideration of the estimates.

Mrs Carnell: The annual reports do not come down until the end of September.

MR BERRY: Indeed. Mr Speaker, at this stage it is proposed that the first paragraph of Mrs Carnell's motion be amended to include the words "and the annual and financial reports for the financial year 1996-97", and that paragraph (3) be amended by omitting "17 June 1997" and substituting "19 August 1997 in respect of the Appropriation Bill and by 27 October 1997 in respect of the annual and financial reports for the 1996-97 financial year".

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