Page 847 - Week 03 - Thursday, 30 March 2006
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implement measures, because I believe Treasury has been investigating measures for quite a long time and that a bit of implementation is in order.
On page 26 of the report, in regard to Actew, the committee also noted—I sought to have this included—that none of Actew’s projects are invested in improving efficiency options for low-income public and private tenants. All the push is towards home owners, and we know that in the ACT quite a number of people are renters, have very little power to improve the energy and water efficiency of their dwellings, and of course they usually pay those bills.
Finally, following on from recommendation 4.28, I would have liked the committee to have also made these recommendations: “that Treasury develop draft sustainability and global reporting initiative measures as a basis that can be easily be adapted for each agency to incorporate into their annual budgeting and reporting processes” and “that the Office of Sustainability work with each agency to develop relevant measurable triple bottom line performance indicators”.
Once again, those are a progression from the Auditor-General’s report that I mentioned earlier on. We have heard from this government—and certainly I had many conversations with Mr Quinlan—that there is a commitment to improve our triple bottom line performance. The Auditor-General’s report shows that agencies are floundering and need leadership. It would seem that the Office of Sustainability is the appropriate body to provide that leadership, but I think the government needs to give all these agencies a stronger push.
Distinguished visitor
MR SPEAKER: I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the Hon. Nick Griffiths. Welcome.
Public Accounts—Standing Committee
Report 5
MS MacDONALD (Brindabella) (12.01): I just want to address Mr Mulcahy’s dissenting report and I would like to start by noting that Mr Mulcahy does not even seem to have enough regard for his fellow committee members to stay in the chamber while we address this report, which is discourteous in the extreme.
I am quite cranky, I have to say, about the dissenting report. I am also quite cranky about the fact that Mr Mulcahy stood up before and sought leave to make a statement, rather than present the report, which is the norm. As a result, that allowed him to filibuster for an extreme length of time. He and the opposition should note that the government has taken notice of the fact that that happened and will be keeping that in mind the next time there is a request for such leave. Mr Mulcahy has presented his dissenting report in a way that is most unusual, and I would say that it in fact borders on being sneaky.
Members will recall that on Tuesday night the Assembly rose early. At 5.54 Dr Foskey and I—along with copies to the secretary and, I think, members of Mr Mulcahy’s staff—received the following email: “By way of courtesy notification, I am writing to advise that I shall be lodging a brief dissenting report on annual reports in relation to the need
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