Page 2424 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 22 August 2006
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DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (11.18): The ACT Assembly is about the size of a small rural primary school. That means that we all know each other, and in some ways we look out for each other. This has advantages and disadvantages. We are also the home of government, and we make territory laws. So we can tend towards becoming parochial. My point is that the Assembly as an institution has a role in supporting public engagement with democracy, the oversight of government, and considered lawmaking. In the context of budget decisions, some concerns have been raised from outside this place that $33,000 to trial web streaming in question time seems like an unnecessary expense. I would think that support for the committee’s Secretariat to put transcripts, questions and published submissions onto the web ought to be a higher priority. During the estimates process I received a lot of feedback about the ability to access that material on the web. Not surprisingly, the process was watched with interest by many people in our community.
Various MLAs have complained about the adequacy of the DOA. While grateful for its flexibility they complain about its rigidity. They would like it to be larger. After nearly two years I am learning how to work with the DOA. One day I may even do what many MLAs do and write letters to the people of Canberra using the DOA. But I am not convinced that this is the best way that I can represent and consult with constituents. Consequently, I return to the notion of using the Assembly reception room as a form of town hall. The recent increase in charges for the use of rooms and associated equipment was vigorously opposed by me in the committee administration procedures, as I know that many of the community groups whose events I host cannot afford other meeting rooms that have the accessibility of the reception room, especially out of hours. I know that that comes at a cost. I am not convinced, however, that an increase to the DOA will compensate for that loss. At the most it amounts to being able to fund entirely five meetings or so a year.
When groups ask me to host a meeting, first of all I negotiate with them to see if they can afford to pay the whole lot. In a sense it requires groups to put in submissions to my office as to whether they should be one of the groups whose meetings are funded entirely by my office. Of course, that is exaggerating a lot and is not how we do it, but we are just getting used to this process as well. As one of the Molonglo MLAs who uses the room quite a lot, perhaps a couple of times a month, I point out that those events are almost always for the whole of Canberra, rather than being based on electorate issues. They are often about national or international matters, and people who attend come from right across this city. So I do not believe that MLAs from other electorates are disadvantaged by my use of the exhibition room or of the reception room for these kinds of purposes. Of course, I always invite other MLAs. I am often disappointed that they do not take the opportunity.
It is important to give ACT people an opportunity to engage with global issues, such as climate change and nuclear power; to meet Filipinos, Zimbabwean and Papua New Guinea politicians and activists; to try fair trade products; to hear of contemporary indigenous concerns and of the ACT’s plans to combat avian flu. These are just some of the events that I have hosted this year. I am sure that if we added to this list other members’ events we would rightfully be proud of the role the Assembly plays in informing and promoting discussion in our community. People in the ACT are hungry for information. Unless they are attached to a university in this town they often do not
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