Jon Sullivan (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. What is the latest information about reforms to the National Capital Authority?

Bob Debus (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The National Capital Authority was established, along with the government of the Australian Capital Territory, in 1989. It is a statutory body whose role is to promote awareness of Canberra as the nation’s capital and to look after the planning and management of the parliamentary triangle and other sites of national significance. It is an important role and it is one that the government supports. But there is a widely held view, in my short experience in this place—a view held by most Canberra taxi drivers—that, under the previous government, the NCA’s role became unclear. This was a deliberate strategy adopted by the Howard government because of its political differences with the ACT Labor government; in other words, the Howard government allowed the NCA’s role to expand beyond its original responsibilities, purposely thwarting the planning and administration roles of the democratically elected government of the ACT and inevitably causing tensions between those two bodies. It is time for that to end.

This is a new government that is not interested in the blame game, not here or elsewhere. We are interested in preventing duplication and waste and improving the performance of all agencies. That is why it is time to take a fresh look at the NCA’s role to see that it operates effectively, that it has its planning responsibilities clearly defined and, once and for all, to end the wrangling over Canberra’s designated areas.

The previous government was much more interested in picking a fight with the ACT than ensuring that the NCA operated usefully. It was happy to allow taxpayers’ money to be wasted—the Minister for Finance and Deregulation has sufficiently demonstrated his concern about that—for its own political purpose by allowing that unnecessary duplication and confusion to occur. That will not be happening under this government. We are interested in forward-thinking, sensible policy that will see governments and agencies working together to meet our commitments, one of which is to reform the NCA.

The National Capital Authority is subject to the scrutiny of a joint standing committee. When it last reported in 2004, it was very critical of the NCA for focusing on local events that did not meet the requirement to promote national awareness. The previous government ignored all of the standing committee’s recommendations, and that further compromised the work and reputation of the NCA. It is time again to have another look at that role, and that is one of the reasons that I have asked the joint committee to conduct an inquiry and report back by the middle of this year. The committee has been given five terms of reference. It will look into the administration of the National Capital Plan, the governance arrangements for the NCA, the level of oversight required to maintain the highest standards of design in the ACT, opportunities for greater cooperation with local planning authorities, and the promotion of the national capital and new infrastructure projects. The decision to conduct a new inquiry has received wide support. The Canberra Business Council said it was exactly what they had been seeking. The Property Council of Australia said that it supports any reforms that can get the NCA and the ACT government working together. Senator Gary Humphries, who is a member of the joint committee, has told ABC radio that it is a good chance to clear the air.

The government has directed many agencies across the whole area of government to achieve substantial savings, and this authority is no exception. Its budget of more than $20 million will be reduced by $1.6 million, and the NCA has the authority—indeed, it has the obligation—to come up with its own plan as to where those cuts will be made.

There have been many reports suggesting that this will mean the end of the Australia Day celebrations. However, the NCA does not own that event. The Australia Day concert belongs to the National Australia Day Council. It has merely had a partnership with the NCA for the last five years. I am assured by the Australia Day Council that it will seek sponsorship elsewhere, and it expects to be successful in that respect. The National Capital Authority has a significant and important role to play in the future, but under this government it will be a role that is properly defined.