Page 279 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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(b) three Members to be nominated by the Opposition;
to be notified in writing to the Speaker by 4 pm today;
(3) an Opposition Member shall be elected chair of the committee by the committee;
(4) funds be provided by the Assembly to permit the engagement of external expertise to work with the committee to facilitate the analysis of the Budget and the preparation of the report of the committee;
(5) the committee is to report by Tuesday, 5 August 2014;
(6) if the Assembly is not sitting when the committee has completed its inquiry, the committee may send its report to the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, who is authorised to give directions for its printing, publishing and circulation; and
(7) the foregoing provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.
This is the standard motion we tend to move this time of the year every year to set up the next estimates committee to examine each budget. In keeping with what has been normally the practice, it is a five member committee. In this case, as there is no crossbench, it is two from the government and three from the opposition with an opposition member to be elected as chair. Some funding is to be provided by the Assembly to permit the engagement of an external adviser to help us work through the budget documents and to report on the first sitting day in August so we can facilitate the debate in the last sitting in August.
I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister for Tourism and Events and Minister for Community Services) (11.58): The government supports the establishment of an estimates committee and is happy with all but one element of the proposal Mr Smyth has put forward. Consistent with last year’s estimates committee and all other committees in this place, the government will be seeking to move an amendment to have a four-member committee, reflecting the fact that there are eight Labour and eight Liberal members and that the committee should represent equal representation between the two parties. As there is not a crossbench member available to be a member of this committee, we need to look at the balance of the parties the electorate has delivered the Assembly and—
Mr Doszpot: Why is it the government should get it then if the crossbench isn’t available, Mr Barr?
MR BARR: Well, we could always reduce the level of opposition membership below two if those opposite are concerned about even numbers. But wanting to reflect the representation in this place, there should be equal representation on the committee. I have circulated an amendment to that effect, and I move that amendment now:
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