Page 2214 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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But I also would like to raise my concern as the shadow minister for police about the difficult job our police force have to do. They are the ones who have to enforce the law. They are the ones who have to go out there and do the hard graft to keep us safe. They feel enormous frustration—I know this from anecdotal conversations with our police—with this government and the revolving door of bail. They do the hard work, they arrest the criminals, they put them before the courts and they get flicked out again on bail—repeatedly—and then they find them again committing a crime. They arrest them again, they put them before the court—out they go again on bail. They arrest them again on another crime, they put them before the court sometimes five, six or seven times, but they are flicked out again. One wonders why our police, who are out there putting themselves at risk and in jeopardy, working hard to keep us safe, are frustrated with this government.
They will hear about this debate today and they will see the consequence of it, the outcomes, where the Canberra Liberals simply asked for some information about bail and even that was too hard for Simon Corbell and for Shane Rattenbury. The community will look at this debate today as a defining moment, I am sure. They will see a party standing up for them, wanting the information, wanting to know how we can improve community safety and the Greens and the Labor Party being too lazy to bother to get the information that would assist. I commend Mrs Dunne’s motion and I am appalled by the Greens and Labor. (Time expired.)
Debate interrupted in accordance with standing order 74 and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for a later hour.
Sitting suspended from 12.32 to 2 pm.
Questions without notice
Canberra Institute of Technology—alleged bullying
MR SESELJA: My question is to the minister for education. Minister, you were asked yesterday why it had taken so long for bullying claims to be properly investigated. In your reply you said that WorkSafe ACT was investigating these claims. However, the WorkSafe report says:
Given … the passage of time since the alleged incidents occurred … Worksafe … did not investigate the actual claims of bullying themselves.
You also claimed that compensation was a matter for the agency itself. Minister, I ask you again: can you outline how and by whom these outstanding claims of bullying are being investigated?
DR BOURKE: I thank the member for his question. As I said the other day, the WorkSafe ACT report focused on the processes and protocols at the Canberra Institute of Technology, and that was what was addressed in the improvement notice. The actual claims which initiated this WorkSafe report will be investigated by the Commissioner for Public Administration.
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