Page 2131 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 21 June 2011
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learned part of that this afternoon, about the targets and the benchmarks she is to set for this government’s reform schedule. It is quite interesting to note the unity of this government behind the Chief Minister. She was here all by herself when her visionary paper was introduced. But it is quite incredible to see the support that you have received on this, Ms Gallagher.
The Chief Minister is quoted as saying in yesterday’s paper, “The public would welcome the greater accountability from the government in achieving its aims.” Hear, hear! But I frankly doubt, and I suggest that most sensible, thinking Canberrans would also doubt, the ability or sincerity of this government in being able to deliver openness or accountability. It is quite clear that there is a pressing need for greater accountability. It is ironic that the Chief Minister is now recognising and admitting that it is needed, because openness and accountability have been sadly absent in the entire decade of the Stanhope government.
During this decade the current Chief Minister played senior ministerial roles and for over five years had in fact been the Deputy Chief Minister. One must wonder why, as Deputy Chief Minister, she was not able to introduce this nirvana she has recently embraced. If we examine the Chief Minister’s openness and accountability in the discharge of her ministerial responsibilities across her portfolios, we can see a consistent pattern of lack of consultation, lack of transparency and lack of accountability.
Let us take the Chief Minister’s favourite area of claimed expertise and one of major significance for the territory: the Health portfolio. A cursory glance at media headlines tells the story. “Obstetricians quit amid bullying claims”, on 17 February 2010. “No complaints to investigate”, a quote attributed to Gallagher, 17 February 2010. “Damning review of maternity services”, August 2010. “Maternity staff in crisis”, 6 August 2010.
While not wishing to take the Assembly through the whole sorry saga again, it is important to note that even though nine obstetricians resigned in a period of 13 months, even though the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called on the government to conduct an external and transparent review, the health minister denied the claims, only to be later forced to establish two reviews which went on to be highly critical of hospital management in respect of workload. I note that for a period of some six years the Chief Minister was industrial relations minister; so apparently not much was learned in managing that portfolio.
Openness and transparency—where was the openness and transparency in dealing with staffing issues? The Chief Minister first denied anything awry. Then, when forced to act and having ordered a review, she sat behind a finding that suggested the hospital management was to blame. When asked in the Assembly if she would release the findings of the staff surveyed at Canberra Hospital around the issues of bullying, she refused. Openness and transparency!
A number of months earlier health minister Gallagher was challenged by the Catholic Church following an agreement that the ACT government would purchase Calvary hospital from the Little Company of Mary Health Care for $77 million. Even the
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