Page 1697 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 1 May 2012
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other health data. Minister, how can the community be confident that no other health data presented by you is false?
MS GALLAGHER: The confidence that they can have, and indeed do have in me, Mr Smyth, is that when a problem is identified, I will come out and clearly explain to them what that problem is. I will not seek to hide it. I will come out. I will give the information that I can. I will clearly explain to them what steps are in place to make sure that the accuracy in this instance of data is correct and we will provide that information to them when that work is done.
I think that anybody who has worked anywhere will understand that at times issues occur, problems occur. We wish they did not. We wish people did not make mistakes. We wish they did not do certain actions in the workplace—
Mr Smyth: So it was a mistake.
MS GALLAGHER: I do not want to speculate on what it is. As you know, those matters are now resting with the Deputy Chief Minister. We all wish problems did not arise. But the test of leadership is actually when they do arise what you do with them—whether you spin away like Mr Seselja did with his little timesheet issues and blame everybody else and say it was everybody’s fault but his, and that issue had been going on for three years. It was everyone else’s fault for three years. I get an issue. It gets brought to my attention. I make that information public. I accept responsibility and I outline a process to ensure data integrity going forward.
That is what leaders do. I will be measured on it. I have no problem with being measured on it, Mr Smyth. I will do what I can from now until the election when people will have their views about that and will be able to make those judgements. I will work hard to make sure that the community confidence in health data is restored. I will do whatever that takes.
MR SPEAKER: Supplementary, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, why have no controls been put in place to ensure the integrity of data beyond the emergency department despite the director-general stating that there is a possibility that further data could have been manipulated?
MS GALLAGHER: I was not at the briefing that I arranged for Mr Hanson. I asked that a briefing be arranged for him, to ensure that he was given as much information as I had available, in the desperate, I think, hope that he actually might be slightly responsible with the use of that information. As usual, though, he has come out and, well, I guess, met the benchmark that we have set for him—or he has, rather, set for himself. But the issue as I understand it is that a lone—
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MS GALLAGHER: that an isolated issue around certain data has been identified that is being prioritised but that a broader audit of health data will be undertaken.
MR HANSON: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
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