Page 518 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 1993
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I would ask an independent body, the OPSM - the Office of Public Sector Management - to do just that. There have been requests to me from time to time, including a request from Mr Moore and from Ms Szuty, and as a result of that request a review was conducted. In fact, a request was made in June last year by Mr Moore and a review has been conducted. As a result of that I have agreed to increase their staffing allocation by an amount of approximately the order that Mr Humphries has mentioned.
Can I also say that on two occasions a similar process has been followed in relation to the Leader of the Opposition's staff. In fact, on 24 March last year I increased Mr Kaine's staff funding - - -
Mr Kaine: It did not change the level of my staff resources.
MS FOLLETT: I do not allocate staff; I allocate funding. I increased Mr Kaine's staff funding on a continuing basis. On 29 September last year I again gave him additional money. On that occasion it was a one-off circumstance, I will say. On both occasions I referred the matter to the Office of Public Sector Management for an independent review and in both cases I acted upon their advice. This is the normal practice, as has been advised to all in this Assembly. It is open to any member to make that request, as I have repeatedly said.
Madam Speaker, Mr Humphries has asked me what the basis was. There was no basis. They asked for the review; it was conducted.
Mr De Domenico: I will ask for one for mine, too.
MS FOLLETT: Why do you not?
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, I hear members opposite saying that they will now be asking for a review. I am surprised that they have not done so to this point. Mr Humphries has asked me whether there was - to paraphrase - any sort of agreement on the basis of that. The answer quite simply is no. There was absolutely no such agreement, any more than there was between me and Mr Kaine. The only agreement that exists between me and Mr Kaine is that he stays in opposition and I stay in government, and may it ever be so.
MR HUMPHRIES: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. I ask the Chief Minister: Is it true that the review of staffing in Mr Kaine's allocation occurred on the basis that the Chief Minister and Mr Kaine wanted to see their own senior private secretaries upgraded to an equivalent level and that the purpose of the upgrade on Mr Kaine's staff was merely to match the equivalent officer in her office? I also ask the Chief Minister: In respect of her kind offer to make extra staff available to other members of the Assembly if there is a review of their staffing, why is it that the request, which was, as you have indicated, circulated by the Speaker to your office several months ago, has not similarly resulted in a review of staffing of members other than Mr Moore and Ms Szuty?
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