Page 170 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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have given consideration in recent times to refurbishing buildings which we do not own, which are owned by the private sector—property developers and owners—then I am not aware that we have, Ms Le Couteur, and I am not sure why we would. I cannot imagine a circumstance in which we would identify a vacant building which we did not own and give any consideration to its refurbishment.
MS BRESNAN: Supplementary question, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Ms Bresnan.
MS BRESNAN: Chief Minister, was Mr Hawke asked to consider the different options for co-locating the ACT public service in his review, or was a new building the only option proposed to him?
MR STANHOPE: I will have it checked. I have it here; I can do it quickly. If you have the report, you could do it yourself; the terms of reference are published. I would refer you to the terms of reference and if I can find them quickly I will read them to you. But from memory I do not believe the terms of reference went to the issue. When one looks at the 70 or so recommendations that Dr Hawke made in his report, a significant number of them are not specifically mentioned in the terms of reference. I am not aware that the question of ACT government public service accommodation is listed in the terms of reference, but in the one minute that I have left to me I am more than happy to have a look to see if I can find that for you.
The terms of reference are: the capacity of existing public sector structures to support the government of the day with strategic and direction-setting advice; effectiveness in delivering on government policy objectives; performance and accountability mechanisms; how existing structures differentiate between the roles of policy and regulation; across-government coordination; and structures that would improve resilience and innovation.
I assume he has not taken a broad interpretation of the word “structures” there. I believe the structures that are referred to in the terms of reference were government’s administrative structures. The issue of a government office block was not specifically included in Dr Hawke’s terms of reference, but he has nevertheless taken the opportunity to present us with his thinking, and his thinking is, as you see, very clearly, rigorously, absolutely and unambiguously that the ACT government should stop delaying a decision and build a government office block.
Hospitals—waiting lists
MR SMYTH: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, I refer to the Productivity Commission report on government services. It found that “overall in the ACT, 34.5 per cent of all patients experienced extended waits” for elective surgery. Why did over a third of all patients for the ACT on the elective surgery waiting list experience extended waits for elective surgery in 2008-09?
MS GALLAGHER: Mr Speaker, because I have the opportunity, I need to correct my previous answer. I have just asked for the letters that I sent to come down. I was
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