Please note the membership of the committee is the same as the Public Accounts Committee.

GOVERNMENT OWNED CORPORATIONS SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - TERMS OF REFERENCE
Due to the structural separation of the Power and Water Corporation, the scrutiny of Government Owned Corporations did not take place during the same period as the Estimates hearings.  On 28 August 2014, the Legislative Assembly passed the following resolution establishing the Government Owned Corporations Scrutiny Committee:

A. INTRODUCTION
1. Notwithstanding anything contained in Standing and Sessional Orders, there be appointed a Government Owned Corporations Scrutiny Committee (the Committee) for the purpose of examining and reporting on the activities, performance, practices and financial management of the Power and Water Corporation, Jacana Energy, and Territory Generation, with reference to those corporations’ Statements of Corporate Intent for 2014-15.

B. MEMBERSHIP
2. The members, Chair and Deputy Chair of the Government Owned Corporations Scrutiny Committee shall be the same as the Public Accounts Committee. The Deputy Chair will act as the Chair during the absence of the Chair during a meeting or during a vacancy in the position of Chair.

3. Members of the Assembly who are not members of the Committee may participate in public hearings of the Committee, provided that at any time participating Members are limited to six members comprising the Chair, two Government Members, two Opposition Members and one Independent Member.

4. Members of the Assembly who are not members of the Committee may not vote on any matters before the Committee.

5. The Committee may proceed with business despite a vacancy in its membership.

6. The Chair of the Committee shall have a deliberative and a casting vote.

7. The quorum of the Committee is three members of the Committee.

8. If at any time a quorum is not present, the Chair will suspend proceedings of the Committee until a quorum is present, or adjourn the Committee until a time and date to be fixed.

C. HEARING TIMES
9. Unless otherwise ordered by the Committee, the Committee shall hold hearings on Wednesday, 15 October 2014.

D. HEARING PROCEDURE
10. All hearings of the Committee are open to the public unless the Committee orders otherwise.

11. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, a Board Chair may make an opening statement lasting up to five minutes, which may be extended with the leave of the Committee.

12. Members may ask questions relating to the activities, performance, practices and financial management of the relevant corporation.

13. Questions shall be directed to the Board Chair in the first instance. The Board Chair may refer a question to an officer, who may then be directly questioned on subsequent questions on the same subject, unless the Board Chair chooses to take the questions.

14. Officers shall not be required to comment on policy matters, including giving an opinion.

15. All questions should conform to Standing Orders 112, 113 and 114 (general rules for questions).

E. QUESTIONS TAKEN ON NOTICE AT HEARINGS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
16. A Board Chair may advise the Committee that an answer to a question or part of a question will be provided later to the Committee. At that time the Chair shall note the question or that part of the question taken on notice and any clarification required.  The text of questions on notice will be distributed to the Board Chairman by the Committee Secretariat.

17. A Board Chairman may give the Committee additional information about an answer given by them or on their behalf.

18. The answer or additional information is to be written and given to the Clerk Assistant – Committees by 29 October 2014, or other earlier time decided by the Committee, and the Chair may present it to the Assembly in accordance with Standing Order 280 by 30 October 2014. Additional information or answers so received are deemed to be documents presented to the Committee (see paragraph 20).

F. HANSARD REPORT AND OTHER TABLED DOCUMENTS
19. The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly is authorised to publish a transcript of the Committee proceedings, whether or not it has been edited, as soon as practicable.

20. Evidence taken in public by the Committee and documents presented to the Committee are deemed to be authorised for publication by the Committee, unless the Committee orders otherwise.

G. BROADCASTING AND TELEVISING OF PROCEEDINGS
21. Sound and vision of the hearings of the Committee may be broadcast and rebroadcast, subject to the same conditions which apply to the sittings of the Assembly and as determined by the Committee.

H. DISORDER
22. At a hearing of the Committee, the Chair may, after a warning, order any Member of the Assembly whose conduct, in the opinion of the Chair, continues to be disorderly or disruptive to withdraw from the Committee for a period of 1 hour.

23. A member ordered to withdraw by the Chair must immediately withdraw for the stated period.

24. If a Member persistently disrupts the business of the Committee, the Chair may name the Member and:
(a) If the Member named is a member of the Committee, suspend the sittings until the Chair has reported the offence to the Speaker; or
(b) If the Member named is not a member of the Committee, order that the Member withdraw from the sittings of the Committee until the Chair has reported the offence to the Speaker.

25. On the naming of a Member:
(a) The Chair shall advise the Speaker of the Naming of a Member as soon as practicable.
(b) If the Member named was a member of the Committee, the Speaker shall declare that the Member named is no longer a member of the Committee and give notice to that effect to the Member, the Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Chair of the Committee and:
(i) if the named Member was a Government Member, ask the Chief Minister to nominate a Government Member to the Committee or,
(ii) if the Member was an Opposition Member, ask the Leader of the Opposition to nominate an Opposition Member to the Committee.
(c) Any such change to the Government Owned Corporations Committee does not affect the membership of the Public Accounts Committee.
(d) If the Member named was not a member of the Committee, the Speaker shall declare that the Member may no longer participate in the proceedings of the Committee and give notice to that effect to the Member, the Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Chair of the Committee.

26. If any objection is taken to a ruling of the Chair:
(a) the objection must be taken at once and stated in writing;
(b) the Chair, as soon as practicable, shall advise the Speaker who shall make a ruling on the matter; and
(c) the Committee may continue to meet but not further examine the matter then under consideration and which is the subject of the objection.

I. REPORT OF GOVERNMENT OWNED CORPORATIONS SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
27. The Committee will report by 30 October 2014