Page 4736 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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Clause, as amended, agreed to.
Remainder of Bill, by leave, taken as a whole
Amendment (by Mrs Carnell) proposed:
Page 16, line 30, add the following new clause:
Amendment of Public Sector Management Act 1994
"39. Part XII of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 is repealed".
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (5.17): Madam Speaker, this is exactly what I said; in order for Mrs Carnell to put her scent on whistleblowing legislation, we have to repeal the relevant provisions of the Public Sector Management Act. I am afraid that it demonstrates the absolute truth of what I said before. However, if Mrs Carnell particularly wants ownership of this matter, then she will get it. But I do believe that, having put the provisions into the Public Sector Management Act and having had the Assembly vote to accept those provisions, we are at risk of looking very foolish if we now amend those provisions via Mrs Carnell's Bill so that they look almost exactly the same as they did before, except for the name at the top of the legislation. It is a nonsense. I bow to the numbers.
MR HUMPHRIES (5.18): Madam Speaker, I want to put on record my recollection of what the Assembly agreed to do some time ago when the original legislation, the Public Sector Management Bill, came forward. At that time there was on the table a comprehensive Bill by Mrs Carnell dealing with whistleblowing. The Government, which originally had eschewed an approach of protecting whistleblowers, suddenly decided that maybe we should - - -
Ms Follett: That is nonsense. It is in our Bill.
MR HUMPHRIES: No; your original legislation on the public service was not to have whistleblowing protection in it. Mr Connolly said so.
Mr Lamont: That is rubbish.
MR HUMPHRIES: It is true. Mr Connolly said that we do not need whistleblowing protection in the ACT. That is what he said.
Mr De Domenico: We do not believe what Mr Connolly says.
MR HUMPHRIES: Obviously, after this, we do not. I can give members of the Government, if they like, the date on which he said it. That was what he did say. Subsequently, there was a change of mind; we should have protection for whistleblowers. Your provisions were written into the legislation, apparently after Mrs Carnell's Bill was tabled. When the Government's Bill was tabled, the issue of whistleblowing was already very clearly on the table. Mrs Carnell had raised it; she had put it there.
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