Chief Minister Alf Cannan has expressed scepticism over a wholesale move to a ‘single legal entity’ for government, arguing that practical, incremental reforms would deliver better outcomes for the public more quickly.
The topic was raised during his evidence to the Standing Committee on Constitutional, Legal Affairs and Justice, which is examining the island’s ministerial system.
While acknowledging the theoretical benefits of a unified government structure, Mr Cannan highlighted the significant time and legislative upheaval required.
“A single legal entity process is going to take years of time to sort out right with the changes in legislation and all the other changes that are going to come with it,” he stated.
He suggested the government’s focus should be on enhancing current systems to achieve similar goals of efficiency and coordination.
“What would be far better doing is enhancing what we have at the moment,” Mr Cannan told the committee.
Concluding, he emphasised that the public’s primary concerns were tangible policy outcomes, not structural theory.
“If I was a member of the public, single legal entity, probably would be the last thing on my mind, and the first thing on my mind would be, well, what policies are going to be pursued,” he said.