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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 920 ..
MR BERRY: Indeed, thank goodness for that. Last sitting I had a motion, which I withdrew, in relation to a contribution by Mr Hird on another report. I need not go into that, but I do want to raise a couple of important matters mentioned by Mr Hird in his report. I will do that after I have dealt with some issues concerning the general proposal.
I make no secret of the fact that I have been sceptical of this approach to the budget from the outset, and for good reason. It is a case of the Executive abdicating its responsibility for the budget in the ACT and playing a smoke and mirrors trick on the rest of the Assembly in the name of so-called consultation. Here we have the least laden ministry of any ministry since self-government attempting to abdicate responsibility to the committee system in order to deflect some criticism from itself. You just cannot get away with that when you take the money. If you take the money, you take the pain. You are responsible for the budget. This attempt at deflection is quite shallow and will be seen to be so by the community.
The Treasurer will climb to his feet and be critical of the Assembly committees because they have not been able to come up with an alternative budget. Would you expect the committees to come up with an alternative budget in a few weeks without the resources that the Ministers greedily hang onto for themselves? Each of the Ministers have each of the departments working hard for them all year round on putting together a budget and when we get close to budget time the Government says, "This is a bit too hot to handle. Let us flick it to the committees and if they recommend any changes we will make sure that they take the heat and we do not. We will deflect some of the heat from ourselves". If you cannot do the job, give up. You have demonstrated that you cannot do the job, Mr Treasurer. Hand it over to somebody else.
This process has been most unsatisfactory and has not delivered good value for the community. It has demonstrated that we have an Executive, the least laden Executive since self-government, that is not up to the job, not prepared to accept its responsibilities under the Self-Government Act. Shame on the lot opposite! I think the members of the community who have had to involve themselves in this process have found it to be severely wanting. I must say that I think that the Assembly was misinformed in coming to a decision in relation to the terms of reference here.
Mr Humphries: Mr Acting Speaker, I take a point of order. A number of speakers have now come very close to criticising the decision of the Assembly on the last sitting occasion to have a draft budget process within certain parameters. I would ask you to remind members that criticism of the decision is a reflection on the vote of the Assembly and is outside standing orders.
MR ACTING SPEAKER: As we understand the definition of that, the point is made.
MR BERRY
: I am on top of that one, Mr Acting Speaker. I turn now to Mr Hird's contribution to the debate, or lack of it. At a meeting on 23 March of the Standing Committee on Education, Community Services and Recreation, Mr Hird told us that he would be presenting a dissenting report and therefore - listen to this one - would not be participating in discussion on the recommendations of the chair's draft report. What an outrageous position for a member of a committee to adopt! I can understand a member saying to a committee that he has not finalised all the details, but is opposed to this
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