Page 1648 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 4 May 2010
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arbitrated as such according to the legal mechanisms that are in place. So, of course, I rejected that, and, of course, Mr Hanson has ignored that finding, because it is not convenient for his argument.
Mr Hanson goes on to raise concerns about the wrongful release of a prisoner by ACT Corrective Services. This is, of course, of significant concern to me as well. The procedures and the circumstances surrounding that incident are currently under investigation. As minister, I have taken the appropriate steps to ensure that that matter is being investigated. If Mr Hanson is suggesting that I should be down in the court cells personally checking off and making sure that prisoners are released appropriately, he has a strange notion of what a minister should do here in the ACT. What I have done is to make sure that the matter is being fully investigated. Appropriate action will be taken if there is any disciplinary action required as a result of that.
In relation to allegations of a breach of procedures and falsification of documents relating to a death in custody, that matter has been investigated. As a result of that, a number of staff have been demoted. A number of other staff resigned before disciplinary action could be taken against them. But in all of those circumstances, appropriate action has been taken. As the responsible minister, it has been my obligation to ensure that action is taken in relation to those matters, and it has been.
In relation to the allegations of rape and abuse of a detainee at a prison, of course these are circumstances which will be of concern. But it is an interesting allegation that Mr Hanson makes. He seeks to suggest that, if a rape occurs in a prison—as unlawful and as hideous as that type of crime is—a minister has to bear personal and direct responsibility for that rape. That would seem to be a most extraordinary standard to set in this place.
Mr Hanson: This is alleged against someone previously convicted of rape at the BRC.
MR SPEAKER: Order, members!
MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, do you ever hear the New South Wales opposition or the South Australian opposition or the Victorian opposition asking for the head of the minister because there has been a rape in a prison? Do you ever hear that? Can anyone seriously suggest that a minister should be held personally accountable for an alleged criminal act in a correctional facility? It is an absurd standard for those opposite to establish, and it simply has no credibility whatsoever.
The broader range of issues that Mr Hanson raises in his motion are all matters that I would like to address in the context of the review which I have established as the responsible minister into the operations of the AMC. The government has always acknowledged that it will be necessary to review the operations of the AMC after its first 12 months or so of operation.
I have announced that Mr Keith Hamburger, a previous director-general of corrections in Queensland, a previous public service commissioner in Queensland and a nationally well-respected consultant in the area of corrections management, will conduct that review. That review will be conducted by him and an extensive team of
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