Page 1157 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 1991
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QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Department of Justice and Community Services - Equal Employment Opportunity Plan
MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to Mr Kaine, as the Minister responsible for the Public Service, for the status of women, for people with disabilities and for Aboriginal people. Has the Department of Justice and Community Services completed its equal employment opportunity plan? When will it be made available to the Assembly?
MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, my recollection is that all of the government departments had completed their equal employment opportunity plans some weeks or even months ago. There were only two departments that were awaiting ratification of their plans by the trade unions. That was the last report that I gave, and I am speaking entirely from memory now. I am not sure what has happened since then, but I will take that specific question on notice and get a response to it. My expectation would be that all the plans would by now be in place, because my recollection is that the last time the question was raised there were only two that were not. I will find out.
Leadership Assessment and Development
MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, my question is directed to Mr Humphries. I indicated to him that I would ask this question. Would you please explain the concept of the assessment centre system and how it operates; whether the ministry strongly recommends to principals that they use the system; and how the licensing system operates in relation to the United States National Association of Secondary School Principals?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Moore for having given me warning of this question. The Australian leadership assessment and development program, as it is fully called, pioneers a new and better method, I think, of identifying and developing leadership. Traditional approaches to selection of leaders in education have involved field based methods of data collection; that is, applications, short lists, interviews and referees' reports. Although the process is often rigorous and intensive, the result is largely a backward looking assessment without sufficient forward looking formative evaluation.
The assessment centre method exposes participants to real life situations and leadership tasks, and is acknowledged to be free from manipulation by either employers or employees. It is seen to be objective, reliable and non-discriminatory in terms of gender and race. Assessment reports can form the basis of growth plans to which individuals may work over a period of years.
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