Page 252 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
debate that the chair can deliver, it simply shows that the system is broken or it is certainly stressed and quite damaged by the insistence.
Committees are set up to scrutinise the government. We all supposedly agree with the Latimer House principle that says you need a strong committee system and you need strong oversight bodies. But you will not let those oversight bodies operate in the manner which is intended.
Regional development is an important issue, and 12 years of neglect by this government should be brought to the attention of the public of the ACT and the region. We had procedures, organisations and processes in place to further regional development and from 2001 until now this government forgot about them. That is the shame of regional development; that is the shame that this government bears.
You can blame us all you want; go for your life. Indeed, Ms Porter, that is politics. But the reality is that you have created a situation in the committees which I think is tarnishing the reputation of this place. It is certainly stopping what were very good reports coming out of the committees. There is a simple way to fix it, which is to go back to the lines. Indeed if we read the standing orders they say that all parties in the Assembly can be represented on committees. If Mr Rattenbury, who is a minister, a private executive member and who has funding to be a crossbencher, is going to have those sorts of funding and staffing arrangements, perhaps he can fulfil his job and he can be the third member on these committees. I doubt that somehow. But there you go.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (10.27): I rise briefly to—
Members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! I would like to hear the Chief Minister, not the conversation across the chamber.
MS GALLAGHER: express my disappointment at the inability of the committee to provide a report to the Assembly. I do think that, again, it reflects poorly on all of us that highly paid MLAs sitting on a committee for over 11 months failed to deliver a report of such importance to this community, particularly with the next couple of years that we face. The region provides the ACT community with great opportunities and we provide the region with good opportunities as well. This was an opportunity for four people, who our community expects to work hard, to sit together and deliver a report.
We have heard this morning speeches from the opposition seeking to blame and carry on about whatever political argument they want to run, and nothing about the region, other than that, yes, it is important and, yes, it is significant. Both Mr Wall and Mr Smyth said, “Yes, it is a significant issue. Yes, it is important. But do you know what? We don’t think it’s important enough actually to work out a report with recommendations that we can progress as an Assembly.” How embarrassing for this Assembly that that is the approach that you two are going to take—to thwart, to refuse to discuss, unless everyone agrees with you. If you do not agree with Brendan Smyth and Andrew Wall then there will be no report. How ridiculous.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video