Mr BAYLEY (Clark) – Deputy Speaker, I rise to give the Greens’ contribution to the Public Accounts Committee Amendment Bill 2025 and say upfront that we support it strongly and it is overdue. It’s well and truly a year overdue because this committee representation and amending this committee representation is really and simply a reflection of the expanded nature of this parliament. This parliament went from 45 to 50 members at the 2024 election and yet the Public Accounts Committee didn’t change. That is 35 in this House and 15 in the other place and this is obviously a joint committee.
It is entirely appropriate that this committee expands. It does perform a really important role, it does perform a really important scrutiny role of the decisions of government and it has done good work over many years. However, that doesn’t preclude it needing to represent in a more fulsome way, the nature of the parliament as it stands at the moment. With an expanded parliament and with an expanded crossbench, it’s entirely appropriate that the Public Accounts Committee is itself expanded to reflect that new parliament.
This legislation is modelled on the Integrity Committee legislation and the makeup of the Integrity Committee, another very important committee of this House, which was something that the Labor Party supported, honourable Leader of the Opposition. I simply do not understand why you wouldn’t support this. Those two arguments about being nimble and responding to the issues is a completely straw-man argument. The committee membership is really important. It is important that it reflects the nature and the makeup of this parliament, because it is important that our scrutiny happens.
In 2024, in the wake of the election that restored this House to 35 members, we sought a position on the Public Accounts Committee. Under the legislation at the time, we sought to have a position there but were denied by the Liberal Party and the Labor Party teaming up to deny us that. Indeed, the Labor Party had two positions in 2024 up until now on that committee.
It’s entirely appropriate that, in 2025, with an expanded parliament, with the political paradigm as it stands at the moment that this is now an eight-member committee with a quorum to increase from four to six, and explicit recognition of the role of the Greens or any other political party and that they do have a member there.
The political paradigm has changed. It hasn’t only changed in relation to the makeup of this parliament, it’s also changed in the context of the budget crisis. The budget crisis is deepening with every single year that the government is on those benches. It is incumbent upon us, the Opposition and the crossbench, to scrutinise government closely and the decisions it makes. That’s why it’s appropriate to make sure that the crossbench that sits in this House is actually reflected and represented on Public Accounts Committee.
This is not a disparagement of Public Accounts Committee and its work in the past. It has done good work. However, it’s 10 years since there has been a Greens member on the Public Accounts Committee. It’s 10 years since we’ve had someone from the crossbench in this House on the Public Accounts Committee, and it’s actually important ‑ imperative, in fact ‑ that the Public Accounts Committee again is made better by having a Greens representation on it.
Nonetheless, it’s really important, we welcome, the Leader of the Opposition. I haven’t read the motion yet, but we absolutely welcome the referral of the stadium to the Public Accounts Committee. We absolutely welcome it, but we question how much genuine scrutiny the Labor Party and the Labor members on the Public Accounts Committee is actually going to give that development given their co-signing a blank cheque for the stadium. It’s really important with the crossbench almost united, with apologies to member for Franklin, Mr O’Byrne, the crossbench is absolutely united against the stadium, and it is critically important that this House has, for example, a seat on the Public Accounts Committee so that we can properly scrutinise the stadium project and the government’s decisions in relation to it.
I ask: What are you afraid of Labor Party? This is a simple conspiracy theory around the representation and the establishment of the expansion of this committee to make sure that there’s a Green on it, that this is a legislation that ensures that the Public Accounts Committee an incredibly powerful and incredibly important and incredibly valuable committee of scrutiny in this place that properly reflects our new parliament. That is why we welcome this amendment bill and, honourable Deputy Speaker, that is why we will support it.
