Page 3364 - Week 08 - Thursday, 23 August 2012
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In February this year the Canberra Liberals uncovered that a confidential phone line set up so that staff and detainees could give confidential evidence to the human rights audit conducted by the Children and Young People Commissioner, Alasdair Roy, was compromised. In one instance Mr Roy approached a complainant’s supervisor at Bimberi and informed the supervisor of the complaint that was lodged. In fact, we learnt of the complainant’s name because, in a letter to Mrs Dunne, Mr Roy mentioned the complainant’s name not once, but three times.
In March we received revelations of departmental documents suggesting staff collude with department managers. This was subsequently corroborated after three separate Bimberi staff claimed the process was corrupted and problems were being covered up, with news that one staff member was sacked after giving evidence and another stood down for their involvement in the review.
The Canberra Liberals’ preference was this matter be handled through a judicial inquiry. But even with the evidence that due process was corrupted, ACT Labor and the Greens conspired against calls for a more thorough inquiry. This is another example that you can change the legislation all you like but the culture of this government is a sick culture. It is a culture of bullying, and the only way to fix that would be to change the government.
We saw the example of Neil Savery, who was, in estimates, relieved of his role as chief planning executive, whilst trying to maintain the integrity of the ACT planning process, with improper government interference by former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and other officials. According to Mr Stanhope, mounting tensions between Mr Savery and the government marked the final straw that extraordinarily led to the commissioning of Alan Hawke’s review of the public service.
The outcome of this review saw the independence of ACTPLA now subsumed within the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, and its director-general assuming the chief planning executive role. Mr Savery was pushed aside. Mr Corbell claims he has respect for Mr Savery but he did not protect him. Mr Corbell says he is a fan of Mr Savery but he hung him out to dry. He allowed him to be hung out to dry by this government because Mr Savery dared to say that we have an independent planning process and it should not be compromised.
The point that Mr Savery was making, and it is a legitimate one, is that there is a role for politicians to interfere in the planning process but there is a clear way of doing that. There is legislation which allows that. There are call-in powers where ministers can come in and make whatever decision they like and then they are answerable for it. But there was this kind of interference in the background, which Mr Savery was subjected to. We have this extraordinary position where the chief planner of the territory was forced to write a minute saying that the government interference in the planning process had completely compromised the Giralang process. How was Mr Savery treated? He was pushed aside, hung out to dry.
Then, of course, we have seen the bullying at Canberra Hospital, as early as February 2010, when serious accusations were made by doctors about the hostile, intimidating
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