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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 930 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
The KPMG report shows that in a series of graphs. There is a good one at attachment 8. The red line on the top shows a big increase from 1997-98 to 1998-99. That was when we moved to accrual accounting. Below that there are two other lines, a pink line and a yellow line, which virtually merge. That shows that the Government has done exactly what it promised it would do in terms of its budget papers. It seems that the P&C council have a little bit of trouble with understanding accrual accounting. Maybe I am being a bit too generous to them there; maybe there are some other reasons. Maybe they are being political and are saying, "We would like to see some more money". For example, the P&C council has said that about $6.5m has come out of the system over the last two years. That is wrong. (Extension of time granted) You would know it if it had. If $6.5m had come out of our education system, we would have about 130 fewer teachers in our schools now. I reckon that if we took $0.5m out of the system you would know it. It is a strange argument and they seem to be going off on a tangent there.
I have never had any drama with any interest group which says, as the P&C has done in the past, "You have maintained your promise. You have continued to increase education funding in real terms, but we would like some more". I can remember Grant Battersby conceding, quite properly, on the ABC recently - it might have been before Cathy Van Extel left - that the Government had spent an extra $6.2m, I think it was, in the current budget on eduction, saying, "But we would like some more. We do not think it is enough". One might not necessarily agree with that when one has to consider what we are trying to achieve for the whole Territory, but that is a valid point for an interest group to make. It is telling it straight and it is telling it quite openly and honestly. I am a little disappointed with them for going off on this tangent. It would be no drama for me if the P&C council had said that it would like $6.5m more. I would say that I would look at it and make a decision, but may not be able to accommodate them. But they should say that, rather than going off on a tangent.
That is why we were quite happy to have an independent audit. We invited comments from the P&C and the AEU. I understand that the P&C sat down with KPMG, agreeing with the terms of reference. The P&C were given a draft report and asked to comment on it. There was a fairly short timeframe; I think it was two days. I understand that they did not comment on it. Of course, the final report is now out, but they are still maintaining their original position, which is unfortunate. I would certainly ask them to reconsider it because KPMG is a most reputable firm. No-one had a problem when we announced that it would do the audit. The two most relevant players, the P&C and the union, have had their input and the umpire has come down with its decision. It is a decision that Mr Moore accepts. It is a decision that most sensible people in our community will accept because it is the decision of a firm of experts after looking at the facts. I hope that this Assembly will accept it. Whether you like it or not, there it is. Mr Acting Speaker, I table the KPMG report and the chart to which I referred.
MR HUMPHRIES
(Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (11.41): I want to make a few comments, as Treasurer, on this report of the Standing Committee on Education, Community Services and Recreation. Although I have only read this report briefly, focusing particularly on the recommendations and the comments, I have to say that it constitutes a very disappointing report on the part of the committee and one which is clearly outside the terms of reference and expectations laid down by the Assembly, admittedly not with the
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