Page 3766 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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In that vein, we cannot and do not deny that there have been instances of bullying in our health system.
We support a proper, independent process to look into these matters, to provide an opportunity for staff to be heard and to have their complaints dealt with. We need an inquiry that will examine whether these issues are systemic or cultural and that will provide recommendations on whether we can improve our policies and processes to prevent this from happening in the future.
Mrs Dunne and some of the leaders in our medical community have formed a view that the appropriate response to these concerns is a board of inquiry. As we have heard, other leaders in our medical community have a different view. Having weighed up the various perspectives and options before us, the Greens do not support a full board of inquiry. We believe that the inquiry proposed by Minister Fitzharris is the appropriate mechanism to deal with the concerns raised.
There is no denying that there have been a series of disappointing and concerning revelations over the past six to 12 months that have been reported out of ACT Health. I also understand that some people have aired grievances and issues that go back further than that, particularly in relation to organisational culture. I believe that, despite some recent issues, ACT Health is heading in the right direction and that what is best for the organisation is to provide an independent process of inquiry that is conducted with integrity and also allows the organisation to move forward in a positive and productive way.
I do not believe a board of inquiry will provide this sort of positive and unifying experience for the organisation and I believe it will take significant time and resources that could be better invested in a range of other activities and services for the people of Canberra and for the development of ACT Health as an organisation. I believe it is possible to have a process that is independent and trusted and allows for both public and private hearings to make sure staff are heard and issues are not swept under the carpet.
I will touch on that point of public and private hearings. I think we need to give the independent inquiry the ability to do both. This is a discussion that has been had at some length through the committee process looking at an independent integrity commission for the ACT. I have been involved in extensive conversations in that space and I think what has come from that conversation is a recognition that there is a time and place for both, that it will depend on the nature of the evidence being brought forward, the nature of the witness and the nature of the person being alleged against. I think it is appropriate to authorise and empower an inquiry to consider what is in the best public interest, to make that consideration. That is certainly the way the recommendation was framed out of the independent integrity commission committee process. I think that that is the right way forward.
We will put people in charge of this inquiry process with a suitable degree of independence, and we need to trust them and empower them to make these judgments in the best interests of the respective witnesses, the nature of the evidence being put forward, the nature of the allegations, the credibility of the allegations and the weight
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