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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 12 Hansard (24 November) . . Page.. 3577 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

that feeds you. The Chief Minister works hard at getting the community working to her will. This is all well established, widely recognised. Except, of course, when something goes wrong, as it too often does. Then the response is immediate, loud, clear and persistent: "It's not my fault. It's not my fault". The lips sometimes say that she has responsibility, but it is never her fault. Documents that Mr Stanhope quoted today put her words into print, but she repudiates them on occasions like this.

We did hear her say that it is Mr Kaine's fault, at least in respect of WorkCover. Remarkable! But let us think about that for a moment. In that statement she has acknowledged that someone, someone in government, has to be responsible. Now, that is an admission. But she should then take the next step and acknowledge that the responsibility lies with her.

By now I expect that most of us have at least read the coroner's report, even if some started too slowly. And we have read other documents - the submission of the counsel assisting the coroner; the submission of the counsel for the Bender family; various records of interviews and correspondence including emails. And there is a bomb on every other page - faulty processes, breakdown of processes, threats, pressures, shortcuts, contracting that is a sham, incompetence. You have read about it, members, and you are hearing about it today.

I have covered something like 1,200 pages of damning indictment of the ACT Government, all recorded by the coroner. He was concerned with the legalities as to the death of Katie Bender. He did not feel the need to draw the political connections, the connections we know only too well, and which it is our task to deal with today. I believe it would have been appropriate for him to do so, but I am prepared to leave the lines of legal responsibility to him while we deal with the lines of administrative and political responsibility.

This then is clear. The administration, Mrs Carnell's administration, was a complete failure - mistake built upon mistake, neglect, incompetence and pressures leading to an inevitable tragedy. But, members, we must support this motion of no-confidence even had Katie Bender not been struck by that missile. A hundred thousand Canberrans urged, incited by the Chief Minister, attended a place where they should never have been - a dangerous place. I will quote again what you have heard today, the evidence of defence scientist Krstic:

That alone is an indictment of the Chief Minister. It is not then just the Katie Bender tragedy that we must judge. The political leadership that gave us the implosion is still there. The administration which responded to the flawed leadership, which acted in the knowledge, directly and indirectly, that what the Chief Minister wanted she got, is still there, with a few key names missing. We need the vote of this Assembly to change that. If nothing changes today, what will be the next Bruce Stadium, the next implosion? We must change the structure which brought this about. The monster still exists. It has to go. We must vote it out today.

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