Page 3156 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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During the motion raised by Mr Hanson on 1 May this year in this place, Ms Gallagher had many opportunities to outline the exact nature of her relationship with the person at the centre of the data doctoring. In fact, in the three pages devoted to this motion in Hansard, Ms Gallagher only once mentions the fact that there is a family member that has a relationship with the person involved. She said:
The fact that a staff member at the centre of these allegations is a friend of a family member of mine created another level of complexity in terms of my own responsibilities as Minister for Health.
Not once did she go further and say that she is not as removed from the relationship as may it be interpreted. During the estimates hearing the Chief Minister made the following statement:
… in relation to the conflict, or the perception of a conflict of interest, that I dealt with first up, it was over the nature of the relationship that existed between a family member of mine and the person who had made an admission. The comments I made were in relation to what could constitute that conflict. I felt that the conflict related to the fact that a family member of mine had a personal relationship with the individual who has made the admission.
The complete nature of the conflict of interest did not become apparent until July, three months from when the tampering was disclosed. We are not accusing the Chief Minister of tampering with the actual records; we are accusing the minister of not detailing the full conflict of interest she has. She has betrayed the people she represents by not following proper governance arrangements.
The story has changed throughout. On 27 April it was a personal connection to a family member. On 3 July she is a friend of a family member. On 6 July she said she had nothing to hide. By 31 July it was revealed she went to France with the data tamperer. If confidence was not already eroded, the situation was worsened when it was revealed that the Chief Minister had spent time on holiday in France with the data tamperer. So in 2010 the Chief Minister spends time on holiday with the person who admitted to doctoring the data, yet Ms Gallagher did not think she should declare it.
In addition to the health ramifications, the misleading of other jurisdictions and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, this scandal is indicative of a health system which is being let down by the minister. The Chief Minister is a liability for the hardworking, honest staff who are committed to their work in the Health Directorate. Ms Gallagher’s judgement throughout this issue has been appalling and unbecoming of a leader of the government.
Was she actually given advice to not disclose her conflict of interest or did she receive advice and reject it? Either way, her judgement is unsound and she is not fit for office. Quite simply, her integrity and political nous is questionable. Rather than debate the substance of the issue, she hides behind the baseless attacks on Liberals, a strategy probably developed by ALP focus groups. Mr Speaker, we have all been let down by the Chief Minister and I do not have confidence in her leadership.
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