Page 3170 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The best excuse, of course, is that it was the previous Liberal government’s fault 13 years ago. It is the first time he has used this one, but apparently the 2003 fires are our fault as well. Clearly, the minister forgets the 2001 fires and the review of those fires, and the 109 recommendations from that review which were not implemented by him or his government or the string of ESA ministers. You want to be very, very careful, minister. It was interesting that the minister stood up and within seconds had gone straight to the slur because he did not have a case and he did not make a case.
This is a minister who is distracted. He said that we have had teething problems and it was a cottage industry growing up. What a disgraceful thing to call the professionals of the ACT Ambulance Service. Just because it got a bit bigger, it went from being a cottage industry to a real industry. They will hold that against you for a long time. Mr Corbell says, “It’s not my fault because I got more money.” Again, it is the standard Labor excuse: we have spent more money; therefore it must be better. What about the outputs? What about the outcomes? What about the service delivery? No, they are not interested.
Members interjecting—
MR SMYTH: Well, we will see. It is very interesting, Mr Assistant Speaker. The minister has ignored all of these issues—
Members interjecting—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Dr Bourke): Mr Smyth, sit down. Stop the clocks. Members, there is too much noise going on. Mr Smyth, resume.
MR SMYTH: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. The minister says, “It’s not my fault.” He is not interested. He says, “There is nothing to see here.” So when does the notion of ministerial responsibility kick in? Depending on which of the amendments he moved, and there are two amendments—again, talk about attention to detail; the minister dropped an amendment and then had to come back and drop another amendment because he got the wrong motion and some of the amounts were wrong. He is a minister who is not paying attention. People can stand as ministers and say, “I have got all this money,” but often it is not about the money. The Auditor-General’s report into gastroenterology said there was plenty of money; it just was not working properly. Yes, there have been additional funds here, and those funds are welcome, but if it is still not working properly it does not matter how good the brand new tanker is, how bright and shiny the new fire station is, how many solar panels you have got on the roof or how many tonnes of carbon you have saved. If you are the subject of bullying in the workplace it can be a living hell.
This is the minister that allowed the toxic culture in the ESA to fester and grow for almost a year after he was warned that it existed, until he was dragged kicking and screaming to get a review. That review started in October or November last year. Here we are in September and we still have not got the answer, because he then could not find somebody to do the review. Full credit to the TWU rep who stood up and they found a decent group to go and do the review. The problem now is so big that they have not had time to complete the review and they have extended it out to almost Christmas.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video