Page 3654 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 27 October 2015
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the head office staff were not included in the first inquiry, given it took nearly six months to determine that the person who was stood down on day one was the only person apparently responsible.
Now we learn that the Director-General of ETD, who was to oversee the investigation of ETD internal staff, has taken personal leave. Ms Burch is yet to comment on that. So who will now undertake those inquiries? What qualifications will they have to do so? We have had answers to none of these questions. There has not been a formal freedom of information process—a process that Mr Rattenbury was keen to say was wonderful; in fact it is so wonderful that he wants to bring in new actions but he will not support our actions in calling on the government to release information.
Through the estimates process we have asked other questions, as well as through question time, and at every step we are constantly handicapped by the number of inconsistencies on the part of this minister. Ms Burch seems to regard briefings as a game where she can demonstrate her superiority as a minister in front of her directorate staff, and almost brag in question time that if one wanted the correct information in briefings one needed to ask the correct questions. So much for transparency, Ms Burch. So much for giving—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot, please direct your remarks to the chair.
MR DOSZPOT: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. It is all a game to this minister. When things get a little tough, Mr Assistant Speaker, and she has to face some hard truths, she pulls out the HR card and screams privacy. She seems to think this is a reasonable substitute for transparency and accountability.
She has used this tactic time and time again. She has used it when facing questions about the ongoing bullying and systemic failures at CIT, and she has done it again with this latest issue. Ms Burch also used privacy as an excuse when we asked questions about parent dissatisfaction and staff disruptions at a popular south side primary school.
Using such props does not substitute for accountability and transparency. This is another example of how this government handles all of these issues, and the electorate at large knows this. I do not think there has ever been a minister in the history of the ACT government who has had as many calls for their resignation, and motions of no confidence expressed from the community, as Ms Burch.
Minister Burch has managed to incur the displeasure of ACT public teachers’ own union, the autism community and the electrical trades industry, all in one year. Not a bad record. There is an old adage that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time. The time for fooling people is running out for this government. People are demanding transparency.
Whether it is rezoning of land; whether it is redevelopment of areas such as the Canberra brickworks or the old Campbell service station site, whether it is roads, whether it is election promises for refurbishment of old schools, whether it is solar farms at Royalla, whether it is bullying at hospitals or bullying in emergency
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