Page 126 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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denial and cover-up and then blaming someone else. “It is Peter Hughes’ fault. He has got some agenda.” Sometimes it is just time for ministers to take responsibility.
I think it is worth touching on the disgraceful handling of the bullying complaints by this minister. I think the way that was handled, those serious claims of bullying and harassment, and the way that has been covered up by this minister and continues to be covered up by this minister, is a terrible reflection on her performance. What have you got to hide, minister, that you keep hiding this report? Why would you not want to let it see the light of day? What does the minister have to hide?
We saw the pattern of behaviour reflected in the bullying. The first thing was to say, “No, there is no issue here. They are wrong.” It was then to attack their motives. And then it was to cover it up. That cover-up continues.
We heard yesterday that the government is going to restructure the public service. They are going to have all these you-beaut new structures. And one of the things identified by Dr Hawke was cultural issues. You do not fix that by changing the structure. You fix that through leadership. You can only fix that through leadership. You can do all the structural changes you like. If you do not have at the time, from the minister, leadership, setting the example, then all the structural changes in the world will not improve performance.
When a minister leads from the front by denying there is a problem, by blocking her ears for years, by covering up the problem and then, when it is exposed, in this case by the Auditor-General, by blaming everyone else and claiming she did not know, what is the message that is sent down the chain? The message is sent: “Cover-up is okay. Instead of making the hard decisions to improve things we will cover it up.”
That is why this minister should be censured. Her performance has been an abject failure and continues to be so.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (10.41): The Greens will not be supporting the Liberals’ censure motion today. I am concerned that Mr Hanson’s interpretations of events as he has listed them in this motion miss the mark, as the Greens believe the truth of each matter is much more complicated than the Liberals suggest. I am concerned that the oversimplification of matters limits the public’s access to the truth and ability to make an educated assessment of the state of affairs.
Indeed, it is time to publicly address some matters which MLAs are often unwilling to address for fear of the political and PR power that some external organisations hold. Some scandalous behaviour has been occurring but not the type of scandal that Mr Hanson purports. Indeed, his public statements assist in perpetuating the key problems. It appears that over recent months Mr Hanson has been able to ride the political campaigns that some groups have without anyone else holding him accountable for the statements he is making, for fear of retribution from those powerful lobbyists. There are those that represent private health and those that represent public health, and indeed Mr Hanson has picked a side.
Looking first at clause 1 of Mr Hanson’s motion and his comments regarding elective surgery, I acknowledge that those comments by the Auditor-General, which he has
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