Page 2538 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 June 2011
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advised that the inquiry was to report to me to enable me to present its report to the Legislative Assembly by 30 June this year.
The inquiry, headed by the Children and Young People Commissioner, has completed its hearings and examination of submissions and evidence and has produced a draft report. I understand that the draft report is a substantial one, covering a broad range of complex issues and incorporating a very large number of recommendations. The commission has only recently provided parts of the draft report to agencies for appropriate comment.
I am concerned that agencies should have a proper opportunity to verify the accuracy of material relating to their activities and make any appropriate comments to the commission to assist it in finalising its report. I am also concerned that agencies be able to properly address the matters set out in the extensive draft report and provide comments to the inquiry in time to allow those comments to be properly taken into account and allow me to table the final report.
This is an inquiry of considerable significance to the ACT community. Because of its significance, it is important that the final report accurately reflects the facts and circumstances it discusses. It is therefore my view, as the responsible minister and the minister making the reference to the commission, that the commission should be granted a further period of time to complete its report and, in particular, provide adequate time for government agencies to respond to the draft report with which they have been provided by the commission and ensure that the commission is able to consider those comments and take them into account as the commission sees fit.
Therefore, I am proposing in this motion that the reporting date for the inquiry be changed from 30 June this year to 31 July this year. I believe this will allow agencies adequate time to properly comment and for comments to be appropriately taken account of by the commission in determining its final report. Given that 31 July is a non-sitting day, I would propose that once the report is presented to me, either on or before that day, the report be made available to members out of session and subsequently tabled in the Assembly when the Assembly meets in August.
I regret that we are in this situation. It would have been desirable for the process of the commission’s inquiry to be completed on the date originally specified by the Assembly. However, I believe it is equally important that where there has been a very short period of time for response by agencies who are directly affected by a large number of recommendations and findings in the commission’s draft report, appropriate process is followed, an opportunity is provided for those matters to be responded to and for the commission to conclude its view on those matters and deal with the matter as it sees fit in its final report.
For that reason I am prepared to issue a direction to the commission, amending its reporting date. I do not—and I would like to put this on the record—expect and I will not accept requests for further extensions of time, given this proposal today. But I think in these circumstances this extension is reasonable and will provide for a detailed and complete report to be provided to Assembly members as soon as possible. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
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