Page 887 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
about data issues. Minister, what did the Director-General of Health canvass in her letter of 8 September to the Auditor-General?
MS FITZHARRIS: I do not have a copy of that letter and I was not the minister at the time. But I expect she would have canvassed the issues that have been canvassed fairly extensively in this chamber. I will take the question on notice and come back to the Assembly with more information.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, will you table the letter of the Director-General of Health to the Auditor-General in the Assembly before the end of this sitting day?
MS FITZHARRIS: I will certainly consider that and come back to the Assembly before the end of the sitting day.
MS LEE: Minister, will you table the written briefing that you and Minister Corbell were given about this issue, by the end of the sitting day?
MS FITZHARRIS: I have indicated that both Minister Corbell and I received a number of briefings, both verbal and in written form. It would not be normal practice, of course, to table briefings, but I have been very open and transparent throughout the sitting periods this year and also in the Health annual report hearings. There was not one single briefing, and it would not be normal practice to table those internal briefings from departments to ministers. They are, of course, available if they are subject to the freedom of information framework.
The important thing here is that there is a system-wide review of the data process underway. As I indicated yesterday, I look forward to tabling the terms of reference for that system-wide review in the sitting period next week.
ACT Health—external contractors
MS LAWDER: My question is to the Minister for Health. The Canberra Times of 22 March 2017 reports that ACT Health has issued a contract to KPMG for a financial controller job for a period of 85 days at a rate of nearly $2,000 per day, using a single select tender process. I will just repeat that to make sure the minister has it: a financial controller job for a period of 85 days at a rate of nearly $2,000 per day, using a single select tender process. The report also quotes an ACT Health spokesperson who said that the work was outsourced to “address a short-term gap in capability” and to continue delivering its “innovation and reform program”. Minister, why was this position not filled through a normal staff recruitment process?
MS FITZHARRIS: This is a normal process of filling short-term capability gaps across the public service while the directorate takes the time to understand the role and potential future public service recruitment for this position.
MS LAWDER: Minister, why is there a short-term gap in capability and why did ACT Health not plan its innovation and reform program such that it was properly resourced before it started?
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video