Page 805 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009
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This has been prompted by a discussion I had with Mr Rattenbury. Now that we have a process in place in relation to the strategic and functional review, the way to kick off that process is to formally move this motion.
Mr Stanhope: We love this openness, comrades.
MR SESELJA: We moved this motion in December; we believe that it should have gone through then.
Mr Stanhope: Partners. Thanks for the openness. Thanks for the communication.
MR SESELJA: But it will now go through the process that has been determined by this Assembly.
Mr Stanhope: Thanks for the commitment to the spirit of the agreement.
MR SESELJA: There is a bit of going on on the other side of the chamber; it is difficult to hear myself. Nonetheless, this is now the process. We believe that the independent arbiter should release this information, but that will be up to that person to determine. It is not a process that we necessarily agree with, but it is a process that we will follow as it is now the standing orders of this place. I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.53): I want to speak briefly to say that the reason that the Greens are supporting this motion is that this issue was raised in December and at the time a resolution was passed inviting the government to provide this document. At the time, we flagged that we felt that the independent arbiter was the best way to assess this. Now that the arbiter position has been created, this motion simply formalises what might have been expected from the December resolution but ensures that there is no uncertainty about whether this document has been called for or not.
The Chief Minister’s suggestion that this comes as a surprise surprises me, because that resolution was passed in December and the intent was reasonably clear. At the time we indicated that we thought that the functional review would be the first thing to go to the independent arbiter as soon as it was created. That is why we will be supporting this motion.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (4.54): The government is not going to oppose this motion, but we will seek an amendment to it. Given that notice of this motion has not been given, I need some time to amend it, but I propose that the motion be amended to provide for the Chief Minister to provide that document to the Clerk consistent with the terms of new standing order 213A(1).
The new standing order requires that a document called for by the Assembly must be presented within a certain time. I suggest that that would be the appropriate mechanism to deal with this. The point I would make to members is that it may not be physically possible for the Chief Minster to provide the document to the Clerk before
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