Page 2457 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 June 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
honesty is critical to leadership. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to show good faith to the community.
Another aspect of leadership I wanted to touch on in relation to this MPI is the ability to understand your role as a politician. And whether it is Katy Gallagher or whether it is Simon Corbell or other ministers in this government, they do not seem to get that they are here to serve the community.
When there is a 10-year war in obstetrics, the response from the minister, the right response, is to take it seriously. When there are claims of bullying the right response, the leader’s response, is to say, “I’m going to get to the bottom of that bullying.” Katy Gallagher’s response was to first say that it did not exist, to seek to defend the public servants at all cost regardless of whether they were right, and then to cover it up.
That is not leadership. We need to change the mindset and the Chief Minister needs to change her mindset. Her job primarily is not to protect her senior officials, her job is to serve the community. If there is a 10-year war in obstetrics, your job is to fix it, not to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it does not exist. If there are bullying claims, your job is to fix it, not to cover it up. And that is the test. That is the test of leadership—how you respond to these issues, whether you take them seriously and whether you understand that your job as a minister, as an MLA, is to fight for the community, the people who elect you. You are in there on their side, not in relation to anyone else’s vested interests. You are in to bat for the community.
Katy Gallagher has failed that test. She has failed the test of honesty and she has failed the test of leadership and dealing with those problems. She has sought to cover them up instead of saying: “I want to get to the bottom of this. I want to fix it. I actually want to find out.” Instead, she attacks those who come forward. So those are the tests of leadership. This government fails the test on competence and primarily it fails the test on competence because it fails the test of leadership.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (5.31): I appreciate the opportunity to be able to discuss this topic this afternoon. Mr Speaker, competence and leadership are at the very centre of government. These are important matters for those in government and, indeed, those who aspire to be in government. The attributes of good leadership include connection with the community, a record of delivery, the ability to inspire with vision, openness and honesty, respect for democracy and importantly, Mr Speaker, a commitment to hard work.
It is very clear to any reasonable observer that these are attributes that are all on display in the Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher. Let us start with community connections. This Chief Minister has served the people of Canberra in this place for more than a decade. But even before that, she served through the CPSU, through People First ACT and through the Woden Community Services. Our Chief Minister has spent her adult life in the service of others. Compare this to her opposite number.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video