Page 1985 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 15 June 1994
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I think the whole debate can be summed up in that paragraph. The Minister, with the support of Ms Follett, selected a board which lacked these qualifications. This Government chose some members on the basis of their political and union affiliations rather than their expertise in the TAB industry - that is not my comment; that is Professor Pearce's comment - and it put them in charge of a $90m operation.
Back in January 1993, in an editorial in the Canberra Times, this comment was made about the decision to put board appointments back in Mr Berry's hands:
One could, therefore, only speculate as to Mr Berry's real motives. As a corporation, appointments to the Board and the executive must be made on business merit. If it were a statutory authority Mr Berry would have a wider class of people to choose from - namely anyone.
That is exactly what he did. If we are going to stand here today and point a finger at the board of ACTTAB, then the person who allowed this situation to develop must shoulder most of the responsibility, and, of course, the Government from which he came is the final recipient of that responsibility.
In his recommendations Professor Pearce has also urged that guidelines be drawn up to clarify the relationship between a statutory authority, a department and the Minister. The report shows that there was little, if any, understanding between ACTTAB, the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning and the office of the Sport Minister as to who was responsible for various processes. Contrast this with Mr Berry's statement to the Assembly in December 1992 when he flagged the Government's intention to decorporatise ACTTAB. I quote:
... the current legislative framework limits the Government's ability to exercise a more positive role in ACTTAB's operations. For the Government to have more direct involvement and responsibility for ACTTAB's operations, the most appropriate structure is for ACTTAB to operate as a statutory authority.
I emphasise the phrase "more direct involvement and responsibility". On 8 January, this is what the then Minister said in a letter to the editor published in the Canberra Times. (Extension of time granted) I am quoting from a letter to the Canberra Times by Mr Berry. He said:
It -
that is the legislation -
will provide for greater accountability to Government and the ACT community in the decision making processes. There will be no change in the service to clients or the racing industry. The major change is that the Government and the Assembly ... will have a closer role in the management of the ACTTAB.
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