Page 2188 - Week 08 - Thursday, 10 September 1992
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Government Service - Provision of Information to Assembly Members
MR MOORE: Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Chief Minister. According to the draft Hansard, yesterday Mr Humphries asked whether a directive had been issued to all ACT Government Service officers concerning the provision of information to non-executive members of the Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister, in your statement at the start of business today you stated that no directive has been issued to all ACT Government Service officers on this matter. This morning the Canberra Times reported that a spokesman for your office said that Mr Harris had not issued such a directive as that dated 7 September that was circulated through at least one government department. I ask whether the following directive has been issued to any public service officers:
The Secretary of the Chief Minister's Department Mr. Bill Harris has directed that:
(a) requests to officers of the A.C.T. Government Service (A.C.T.G.S.) from non-Executive Members of the Legislative Assembly for information, other than publicly available factual information, should be directed to the office of the relevant Minister; and
(b) that the office of the relevant Minister be kept informed of any occasion where publicly available factual information is provided to non-Executive members of the Legislative Assembly.
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, I thank Mr Moore for the question. It is indeed the case that Mr Humphries's question did relate to all of the ACT Government Service. I can confirm yet again that I have not issued such a directive; nor has such a directive been issued. Madam Speaker, in order to clarify this matter once and for all I made a statement this morning which, in fact, outlined what the general guidelines applying are, and I tabled those guidelines. To the best of my knowledge, no such directive has been issued to all ACT government servants; but, Madam Speaker - - -
Mr Moore: My question was "any".
MS FOLLETT: I am coming to that. Since the beginning of question time I have been provided with what appears to be an internal minute in the Government Solicitor's Office which reads as Mr Moore has outlined. It is dated 7 September. I can only say that this is a particular officer's interpretation of the guidelines that applied and that still apply.
Mr Humphries: It says "Mr. Bill Harris", does it not? He issued this directive.
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, the signatory to the minute is Mr Allan O'Neil. The answer that I have given and that I continue to give in this matter is correct. There exists an internal document within a part of one agency which fits the bill that Mr Moore has outlined. To the extent that members feel that that is contrary to answers that I have previously given, all I can say is that I do not believe that it is. It is an internal memo that has not issued from a Minister's office, or indeed from the Head of Administration's office. It is internal to the Government Solicitor's Office.
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