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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 768 ..

ACTION Chief Executive

MR WHITECROSS: My question is to Mr Kaine in his capacity as Minister for Urban Services. Minister, on 2CN radio this morning you said, in relation to Mr Flutter's resignation:

I've met almost weekly with Mr Flutter since I became Minister for Urban Services eight or nine weeks ago and we've never had any discussions on the subject of him leaving the service.

Minister, do you expect us to believe you when you say that you have never discussed with your CEO of ACTION the fact that he appeared on the front page of the Canberra Times a month ago claiming there was a campaign to destabilise him? Do you expect us to believe you have never raised that with him? What does this say about your competence as a Minister? I ask whether you have taken a leaf out of the book of your predecessor, Mr De Domenico, whose motto was, "I do not know. Wait and see. Who cares?".

MR KAINE: I have said, not only on 2CN this morning but also here in this place yesterday, that Mr Flutter at no stage raised with me the question of his leaving the ACT Government employ and I did not raise it with him - unequivocally, without question. Mr Whitecross can try to beat me over the head with a big stick as hard as he likes and he can flex his muscles and be as macho as he likes, but I will do nothing but tell the truth.

MR WHITECROSS: I ask a supplementary question. The truth does not put you in a very good light, Minister. I ask the Minister why yesterday he said:

... Mr Flutter has my complete support, and always has had, as the executive director of ACTION. John Flutter has always been a professional public servant and remains so. At no time have I had occasion to criticise him for the way he has done his business. He certainly has had, and still has, my total support.

Why did you say that; yet not raise with him the issue of his fears about destabilisation? Why did you not talk to the chief executive of your department, Mr Gilmour, to inquire why Mr Flutter thought, correctly as it transpires, that someone was out to get him? Why did you not instruct Mr Gilmour to put a stop to the destabilisation?

MR KAINE: I said all those things because they were, I repeat unequivocally, absolutely true. I did not raise the question with Mr Flutter, because all I heard was what I read in the Canberra Times which was attributed to Mr Flutter. If he felt that he was being destabilised and he thought that I was in some way associated with that, I have no doubt that he would have raised it with me on one of the occasions when I spoke to him. He did not do so. I repeat that I have in no way been associated with any program of destabilisation. I took it to be nothing more than what I still believe it is - newspaper talk.

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