Page 5405 - Week 17 - Tuesday, 3 December 1991
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It is as a result of Mr Service's request that I have placed this motion before you, not for any reasons of my own. I do not mind providing the figures per se, but the board have indicated that it disturbs them greatly. They have set out their position very clearly and I am prepared to accept that at face value. Mr Kaine does not seem to be prepared to do the same sort of thing.
Mr Humphries raises the issue of questions. On this issue of business rules, wherein he referred to a question raised by Mr Stefaniak, the business rules will give Mr Stefaniak all of the answers. He need not be concerned about it. I will get them to him, as I have indicated. They will give him all of the answers. Mr Kaine said that the Minister asked the chairman of the board to get him off the hook with this letter. That is completely untrue. This is an initiative of the chairman. I did not request him to provide this letter. It is something which he has chosen to supply on his own initiative.
I will say that I noticed very early in the piece that the board were very reluctant on this score and, rather than put them into a position of volunteering information that they did not want to give, I made up my mind that the best way to proceed with this was to order the board, in accordance with the legislation, to provide the information. They have, in accordance with their duty, provided that information and set out all of the reasons why it should not be done.
It is a great pity, Mr Speaker, that the members of this Assembly have not been able to accept those reasons. I think they are reasonable, on the face of it, and I am surprised, I must say, that members would not see the very good management reasons why the board does not want to be placed in focus in the way that it alleges that it will be.
Mr Speaker, all politics aside, I think that what the chairman of the board has requested is reasonable. I think that for such a new board to be placed under such pressure is an unreasonable requirement of this Assembly. The politics are a different matter. It is all right to come in here moving censure motions against various Ministers; but, when the censure motion is mitigated by a motion which affects the management prerogative of the board, then I think it has all gone awry; it is off the rails. I believe very sincerely, Mr Speaker, that members of the Liberal Party and other parties in this Assembly should agree with the request of the board chairman.
I am not going to hide behind the board chairman. The buck stops in my office. There is no question about that. I have been provided with figures willingly by the board from the date that I requested them, and I will continue to be provided with them willingly; but, as far as this Assembly is concerned, I think the board is right in strongly protesting at the level of interference which it, among all of the government instrumentalities, has to suffer.
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