Page 194 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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Children and Young People Commissioner over a month to answer my basic question. My basic question was: did he honour the confidentiality of the person who came to him with a problem? In fact, his responses deteriorated over time. He started in December by stating that it would be inappropriate to discuss any confidential discussion with me but by the time of his third letter he had revealed the person’s name to me and to my staff.
It does not matter that it is only a few people. It does not matter that it may not have done any harm to their employment or their wellbeing. The mere fact that he revealed this information shows that he has breached this legislation and this minister has done nothing about it. This minister has done nothing, except to come in here with this trumped-up censure that he did not have the guts to move as a stand-alone motion, and he did it in a way that limits my speaking time and he did it in a way that shows that he has no regard for the facts. And the performance of this minister here today just tops off the poor performance of this person who is the first law officer—the first law officer who has created a new doctrine about confidentiality, as we have seen before, the first law officer who has been roundly criticised to me for his handling of this matter.
The sorts of things that have been said about this attorney and his handling are a real worry for the upholding of the law in this town. The legal community holds this man in complete disregard. And it is not because he is not a lawyer. They can forgive the fact that he is not a lawyer but they cannot forgive the fact that he is not considered in what he does, he has no understanding of the basic principles of law. It has been said to me that his analysis is insulting, foolish and ill considered. He does not comprehend the rule of law, one lawyer said to me. And in a particularly lawyerly turn of phrase, he was described to me very recently as a de novo idiot.
This man has come in here today to try to deflect from his bad behaviour and try to deflect from the serious concerns that we in this opposition have consistently raised over months, over years, in relation to Bimberi by trying to censure me. Bring it on, Mr Corbell, because I am not afraid of your censure. The people of the ACT should be afraid of you, on the other hand, because you have no understanding of the law, you have no understanding of your responsibilities to look after the poor, the downtrodden and the people who really count in this, the kids at Bimberi and the people who look after them. The staff at Bimberi have no confidence in this inquiry.
Words in motions are one thing but the pure visuals of the Children and Young People Commissioner being the person conducting that inquiry says to the staff it is about the kids and not them. That is the clear feedback. Go out there and ask them. You have the right to go out there and ask them. Go and ask them. That is what they will tell you, if you do not intimidate them.
Of course the Canberra Liberals will not be supporting this ridiculous amendment today, and we should be of course supporting the children at Bimberi and the people who look after them by supporting the original motion.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (3.40): The youth justice system, particularly the Bimberi youth detention centre, is not working
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