01 June 2011
Mr MORRIS (Mornington) — It is a genuine pleasure to rise to speak in the committee segment this day. The report of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee on the budget estimates process part 1, which I tabled this morning, is the first committee report to be tabled in this Parliament, apart from those of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee.
I have the privilege in this Parliament to serve on PAEC with my colleagues the member for Forest Hill and Mr Philip Davis and Mr David O’Brien, members for Eastern Victoria Region and Western Victoria Region respectively in the other place. In the last few weeks throughout the estimates process we have spent a fair bit of time together and with our colleagues on the other side of the house.
The report I tabled this morning is very much a slimmed‑down version as compared with the standard part 1 reports tabled in recent years. Two parts of the report are very much missing — the transcripts of the hearings are not in the report and neither are the presentations provided to the committee by ministers.
There is a very good reason for that — that is, they have already been made available publicly at a much earlier time. It is a useful example of how we can use technology to improve the process and increase the opportunity for members who are not part of the committee or the public to follow more closely the detail of the deliberations. The transcripts were available on the internet initially as unverified transcripts as soon as they became available and were subsequently replaced by the verified versions. The presentations were also available on the internet.
The committee’s report on the estimates will consist of three parts. In this part we have an analysis of key aspects of the 2011–12 budget. A number of recommendations were made which in the ordinary course of events I would have liked to have talked about, but we will not have time for that today. There is an index of key matters which were raised at the estimates hearings, and there are details of further information which will be provided and questions on notice. I note that there were a considerable number of questions on notice from each portfolio and that further information will be provided later. The other two parts of the committee’s report will be tabled at a future date.
I draw the attention of members to the tear sheet just inside the front cover, which seeks feedback on part 1 of the report. It will be valuable if members and staff can provide some feedback because the committee makes a big investment in time and resources in producing the report. Parliament similarly makes a big investment in terms of resources in producing the report, so it is very important that the product that results from the process is useful to members.
As I said at the outset, a big investment of time is made by committee members. All ministers and the Presiding Officers appear before the committee. It is an exhaustive, if not exhausting, process. There were 48 separate hearings in the latest round, with a total of 54 hours of hearings, a figure somewhere between 4 and 6 hours greater than the time involved in hearings in the past.
It is important that what comes out of that process is useful to members. An important element of our work is to ensure transparency of the government’s budget deliberations and to account to the Parliament for the funds that we appropriate.
I commend the report to members.
Legislative Assembly 1 June 2011
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