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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4754 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

It is a public statement of the willingness of the ACT Executive to work with the legislature and is just another example of this Government's commitment to open and accountable government. Mr Speaker, I would be interested in the views of the alternative government over there. Would they be willing to commit to this legislation? They certainly were not the last time they were in power.

This legislation complements the Government's initiative to establish jointly with the Commonwealth Government a working party to undertake a review of the governance of the Territory. We need to have open ideas to improve the governance arrangements in the ACT. In supporting Mr Moore's Bill, I believe that the Government has demonstrated its commitment to involve Assembly members during the early stages of the development of legislation that ultimately we will have to debate and pass. However, I would like to add that I believe that the Government's record in this regard has been very good without a legislative framework. As usual, the Government has just gone on with it.

As I outlined to members last week, we have the runs on the board. To take national competition policy as an example, there was full involvement of the Assembly in that process. There have been numerous offers of briefings to members of the Assembly on the broad range of issues and legislation associated, in particular, with COAG agreements. For example, this Government has briefed several members of the Assembly on competition policy legislation which is currently before the Assembly.

During his presentation speech, Mr Moore stated that this legislation is about changing a culture of secrecy, because in this area the Assembly has had anything but open government. Mr Moore added that this was a culture not just of this Executive but also of the former Executive - one that has been established by Executives right across Australia. Mr Speaker, I would refute the claim that this Government has been secretive in its negotiations at the national level. The negotiations on specific reforms are not some sort of conspiracy to harm the residents of the ACT. In fact, that is far from the truth.

We, as a government, have always pursued specific reforms and negotiations at the national level in order to bring potential benefits to the residents of the ACT. However, I am sure that all members of the Assembly would appreciate that a small number of negotiations which have been undertaken at a national level do require some sort of confidentiality at the outset. I certainly believe that Mr Moore would appreciate that. Clause 10 of the Bill provides a mechanism for some protection of the Territory's interests.

This Government has kept both the community and members of the Assembly informed on all negotiations. The Government, in view of its record, is ready to sign up to this legislation. Mr Speaker, I think this is a good example from Mr Moore of the sorts of changes that we can make in this Assembly to improve the governance of the Territory and improve the way we operate here. I am very pleased to be able to support this legislation. I do have an amendment to move later, but it is fairly minor.

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