Page 2406 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 June 1994
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Clause 235
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (5.40): I move:
77. Page 176, lines 12 to 20, subclause (1), omit the subclause, substitute the following subclause:
"(1) The provisions of the Merit Protection Act apply by force of this subsection to the Australian Capital Territory and to officers and employees as if -
(a) the Australian Capital Territory were a Commonwealth authority within the meaning of that Act; and
(b) each officer or employee were a Commonwealth employee within the meaning of that Act.".
This amendment is aimed at omitting the existing drafting and inserting some new drafting in order to provide that the provisions of the Merit Protection Act apply to officers and employees of the Territory as if the ACT were a Commonwealth authority and the officers and employees were Commonwealth employees. Following consultation with the Commonwealth and in the light of the drafting of the Commonwealth's own Bill entitled Australian Capital Territory Public Service (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1994, the provisions relating to the application of the Commonwealth Merit Protection Act need to be adjusted so that they pick up that slight change in the drafting. Again, it is a technical amendment, and I commend it to the Assembly.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 236
MRS CARNELL (Leader of the Opposition) (5.42): We are opposing the clause, Madam Speaker. The Liberal Party will be moving to delete Part XII, "Whistle Blowing". The reason for that is fairly obvious. There is already whistleblower legislation on the table, and most of the recommendations of the committee that looked at this legislation were rejected. In fact, the Government seemed to reject the select committee's recommendations fairly dramatically across the board.
There is no commitment from the Government that there will be stand-alone legislation in this Assembly within a particular period, which I believe should not be longer than three months. If we had that commitment, this side of the house could have supported this Part of the Bill. Unfortunately, we cannot have that faith until the Chief Minister categorically puts on the record her support for the sort of stand-alone whistleblower legislation recommended by the committee set up by the Assembly. Such stand-alone whistleblower legislation would give to public servants the rights they deserve and would ensure that they are protected in circumstances, where there is not a promotion involved, where
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