Page 649 - Week 02 - Thursday, 23 March 2023
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about what has happened are the patients themselves, not people inside this Assembly chamber, and not people reading the newspaper. If these were your records, you would want to hear about it first from the health service from which you are receiving care. We needed to make sure that that happened.
Government—territory-owned corporations
MR BRADDOCK: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement appendix 2, Agreed Executive Reform No 3, requires employee and consumer representation on the board of major ACT territory owned corporations or government businesses. Chief Minister, can you please provide an update on how the government is going at implementing this item?
MR BARR: I thank Mr Braddock for the question. Representation is in place in accordance with that agreed executive reform for current large ACT government business agencies. ACT cemeteries and CIT are examples there.
In relation to the territory-owned corporations, this cannot occur because of a conflict with the Corporations Act 2001, which requires that directors of corporations must act solely in the interests of the company and not in the interests of any other entity. So the essence of that particular challenge is that you cannot have a representative position on a corporation that is covered by the Corporations Act.
The government has instead worked with the territory-owned corporation that is also covered by the Corporations Act on a range of processes and protocols to give effect to the desired intent of the agreed executive reform.
MR BRADDOCK: Chief Minister, how many employee and consumer representatives have you appointed to boards this term?
MR BARR: I do not appoint in large part. So for questions directed to me within my portfolios, clearly cabinet makes most appointments of these kinds. So I would need to take on notice across whole of government. But the composition of the relevant boards would also be available in the annual reports. So I suspect the next reporting period would be the time for further follow-up in relation to that matter.
So, in fact, I will not take it on notice, because the information will be updated in the annual report. I think that would be the next most appropriate time for that information to be provided.
MR DAVIS: Chief Minister, how does the ACT government support the voice of employees and consumers in decision-making for these entities?
MR BARR: Sorry; could you repeat the question?
MR DAVIS: How does the ACT government support, or seek out, the voices of employees and consumers when making decisions for these entities?
MR BARR: So how do we go about recruiting for these boards? Certainly there is an expression-of-interest process. Through a number of areas of government, we also
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