Page 728 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 1 May 2007
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opportunities available to members in this place, particularly through the two quite exhausting estimates processes, which are a feature of this Assembly, particularly through agency annual reports.
Agency annual reports are complete documents. They contain detail in relation to capital works and expenditure on capital works there for all the world to see as an annual report. There is a significant opportunity for each of the agency estimates committees to pursue capital works projects through that particular process. Capital works are a significant part of budget. And a significant aspect of the budget process is, of course, the estimates committee.
Once again it has to be acknowledged that there were, I think, five quarters during which the Liberal Party did not notice that quarterly reports were not being tabled. They had those opportunities. Potentially over that period there were at least three opportunities for estimates. It would be interesting to do a review of the extent to which the Liberal Party bothered to ask any questions about progress of capital works projects. You probably will not find a question; I cannot remember any.
Once again, that is very much a reflection on the quality and the capacity of those Liberal Party members of estimates committees. The level of their interest or their capacity to review or to research is such that these things were not on their agenda or they were not prepared to pursue them.
It is a complete furphy to suggest that because one particular avenue for obtaining information in relation to a particular aspect of government activity—namely, a quarterly capital works report, which was essentially a report developed and produced for internal agency use—is no longer available, that all of a sudden—shock-horror!—there is no information available. It is available in agency annual reports; it is available in the budget documentation.
These are issues that can be pursued through estimates with officials, in relation to both annual reports and the budget; issues that could be pursued through this place in relation to questions on notice or questions without notice; and issues that could be pursued through the myriad inquiries that are part and parcel of the very open and transparent nature of governments in the territory through a range of standing committees, half of which are chaired in a unique, Australian-only circumstance—except of course in the Senate; not including the Senate. Since the Liberal Party federally decided to abolish the age-old practice within the Senate of sharing the chairmanship and—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR STANHOPE: Do you want us to pursue that across the board? The fact remains: this is the only parliament in Australia where the government has been prepared to share the chairmanship of its standing committees. Not even your colleagues up on the hill are prepared to extend that capacity to the opposition in that place; this is the only parliament. If you have a concern about the availability of or access to information in this place where you chair and control half of the standing committees, then, as I said, look at yourselves and reflect on your own capacity, your own interest,
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