❓ Opposition Leader Barnett questions Premier Gallop about the cost and effectiveness of government committees and their impact on core services. The Premier defends the committees, highlighting their role in savings and policy development.
AnsweredQoN 761Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the Premier to the Labor Party’s election policy titled “delivering a better government” which, in part, states - Labor will change the structure of Government to facilitate: . . . · the effective use of taxpayers’ money to deliver benefits to all Western Australians; (1) Will the Premier confirm that since the last election his Government has appointed 295 committees, reference groups, reviews, task forces, inquiries, summits, symposiums and working groups? Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT: That was 295, Mr Speaker. It is a better batting average than Steve Waugh’s. (2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
. . . · the effective use of taxpayers’ money to deliver benefits to all Western Australians;
· the effective use of taxpayers’ money to deliver benefits to all Western Australians;
Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT: That was 295, Mr Speaker. It is a better batting average than Steve Waugh’s. (2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. BARNETT: That was 295, Mr Speaker. It is a better batting average than Steve Waugh’s. (2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
. . . · the effective use of taxpayers’ money to deliver benefits to all Western Australians;
· the effective use of taxpayers’ money to deliver benefits to all Western Australians;
Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT: That was 295, Mr Speaker. It is a better batting average than Steve Waugh’s. (2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. BARNETT: That was 295, Mr Speaker. It is a better batting average than Steve Waugh’s. (2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(2) Will the Premier further confirm that to date these committees have cost Western Australian taxpayers in the order of $13.5 million and those costs are set to increase further? (3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(3) Will the Premier now concede that the reason Western Australian taxpayers have not seen any increase or improvement in core services is that his Government is pouring its time and money into symposiums and working groups rather than improving services to the benefit of Western Australians? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
(1)-(3) There are a number of points at which I could enter this discussion. Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Go for it! Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I will take a few of them. First, I will look at the cost issue. I will need to check the precise cost because, as members know, any figure mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition must be checked. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: It was information provided by you, Premier. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I know. I presume the Leader of the Opposition added it up correctly. From three budgets amounting to $32 billion - I will ask the Treasurer whether that is correct. Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr E.S. Ripper: That is correct. Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, $13 million is a fairly small amount of money from $32 billion worth of budgets. Secondly, it is extraordinary for the Opposition to come into this Parliament and raise questions about waste. Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Is it? Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: First, we are a Government that has reduced the size of the Cabinet, reduced the resources available to ministerial offices and reduced the number of government departments, and we are bringing about significant changes to the delivery of procurement policies and corporate services. We are a Government that is making sure money is spent on core areas such as health, education and police in Western Australia. I believe $13 million is a reasonably small amount of money in the total picture. Secondly, we have saved the people of Western Australia an enormous amount of money, some of which has come from the recommendations of the groups that the Leader of the Opposition talked about. Thirdly, I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we are a Labor Government; he finds that difficult to work out. Labor Governments have a different philosophy from conservative Governments. Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You can’t make a decision. Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: We have held two summits. We held a drug summit for the first time in the history of this State Government. Secondly, we had a water summit, which was hugely successful. Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Mr C.J. Barnett: It was a fantastic publicity exercise. Who is the minister for water? The answer is: there are four ministers for water. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Those summits were highly successful as a means of involving the community in decision making. We have had excellent consultation processes in a range of areas that resulted in feedback from the community. The Government has had excellent advice from the Functional Review Taskforce and the Machinery of Government Taskforce. The previous Government lacked the will and the capacity to bring about those changes. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to mount an attack on the Government, he will have to do a bit better than refer to the consultation and advisory groups that we have established. Those groups were established to make sure that we have a good system of government; leading growth rates in Australia - which we have; surpluses rather than deficits in our budgets; and more nurses, teachers and police officers in our system. That is the result of the inquiries we are involved in. We are very happy with what we have done in those areas and we are very proud of the achievements that have flowed from them.
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