Page 2763 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 12 August 2015
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How did the UFU view that? They said:
… operational responsibility migrates from Chief Officers to the Commissioner.
Paragraph (1)(e) reads:
the work the Commissioner is doing, with the support of the Chief Officers, to restructure the agency through the Strategic Reform Agenda;
It is interesting to look again at the letter that they sent to Ms Burch:
The recent Treasury review did not propose any improvement to support areas that clearly duplicated what occurred elsewhere and/or were able to be outsourced, thereby providing efficiencies and improved service.
Gee, look at that: no improved service! They continued:
The creation of three executive positions to oversee support services cannot be supported in relation to improved efficiencies and effectiveness and will not improve emergency services to the people of the ACT.
This is what you are supporting, Mr Rattenbury. Let me again read the words of the union:
The creation of three … positions to oversee support services cannot be supported in relation to improved efficiencies and effectiveness and will not improve emergency services to the people of the ACT.
Is it any wonder the minister did not respond to that? This is a minister who is not in control of her portfolio. This is a minister who does not take seriously her responsibilities. With respect to the discourtesy in not responding, I assume it is so that there is no paper trail, for her to put something in writing to say that she believes in everything that is going on.
I think this is a sad state of affairs. It is now quite clear that the UFU have lost faith in what is happening. They have written to the minister asking her to intervene. They have written to the minister asking her to show leadership. Who would have thought it—asking the minister to show leadership. I go back to the final paragraph of the union’s letter:
The United Firefighters Union implores the ACT Police and Emergency Services Minister Joy Burch to provide leadership and halt the return to the dangerous structures and practices currently being hotly pursued by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and the Emergency Services Agency.
Minister, you should honour what your amendment actually says, so that we have the creation of an emergency services authority. Experience now shows, some years on, that we should perhaps have a CEO. Again the minister just gets it wrong. I do not know whether it is deliberate or a lack of comprehension. She says, “How can you have a commissioner who is not across all four services and then have a CEO who is
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