Page 1557 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2007

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comprehensive recommendations that I and other members of the committee commend to the Assembly.

I join my fellow committee members in saying how very pleased I am that the step-up, step-down recommendation in this report is now redundant because of decisions made in the current budget. We are very pleased that the government has been able to do that. Obviously, we would like a lot more of the recommendations looked at in the same light, and we are hopeful that many more of those will be able to be instituted. I would also like to add my congratulations to the government on the many initiatives it has taken in the health area, particularly in the mental health area. I am very pleased to see those.

As Ms MacDonald and Mrs Burke have just said, many people who came before the committee and provided submissions to us did so with great courage. Also, not-for-profit organisations spent a lot of time putting in very comprehensive submissions. We do congratulate them and thank them for their time and courage in doing that.

I would also join with everybody in thanking Grace Concannon and all the committee secretaries who went before her, as well as the committee office staff, for their work. To say that I enjoyed being part of this inquiry would not be quite accurate, as many times the stories we heard were very difficult to listen to, but a lot were very affirming. It was good when we heard those affirming stories. I would like to thank particularly Ms MacDonald and Mrs Burke for being willing to go through all that with me. I guess we knew that it would not be an easy subject for an inquiry. I thank the committee for their hard work with me on that. I would obviously commend the recommendations and the whole report to the Assembly today and thank everyone for their valuable work.

Debate (on motion by Dr Foskey) adjourned to the next sitting.

Public Accounts—Standing Committee

Statement by chair

MR MULCAHY (Molonglo): Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts relating to the committee’s recent participation in the ninth biennial conference of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees. The ninth biennial conference of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees was hosted by the commonwealth’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and held in Canberra from 11 to 14 April 2007.

One hundred and twenty-six Australian and international delegates and observers attended the conference, including members and staff of public accounts committees, auditors-general, academics and professional bodies. In addition to Australian delegates, the conference had representatives from the countries of Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa and New Zealand. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts and its secretary represented the Legislative Assembly for the ACT at the conference.


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