Page 2361 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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MR RATTENBURY: Yes, and it is very obvious, Mr Stanhope. We read you like a book. The bottom line is that when it comes to openness and accountability the opportunity sits with the government to set the standard from the top and to create the culture that they want to create. There is only so much we can do here in the Assembly in order to make the rules, to set the processes, to create the steps along the way. The bottom line is that it comes from the top, and I would encourage the current government to think about this.
There is much we have to do to remain vigilant. I think that it is a constant process. Sometimes we will not get it right; sometimes we will need to keep working on it to make the processes even better, but that is something all of us need to think long and hard about. It is all about our attitude, and that is where I will leave it today so there is time for other members to contribute to this debate.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.35): It is interesting to hear the Chief Minister dredge up his conspiracy theories. He goes straight to the interesting issue of questions on notice. For the record; there were 530 questions lodged. We have heard various numbers from the Chief Minister—up in the thousands—but the official number is 530 questions. It is interesting when you go to the document that Health put around in 2003, the opening paragraph is:
Budget estimates is the Opposition’s main avenue for obtaining ammunition against the Government. A good Opposition (and minor parties/cross-benches) will ask enough questions—and put enough questions on notice—to ensure they have ongoing issues to run with for many months.
Mr Seselja: You’ve got an endorsement from the department of health.
MR SMYTH: The department of health thinks it is okay. But then it goes on to say:
Take on notice what you can’t or don’t want to answer …
We have seen this for years. You just take it on notice when you do not want to answer it or when you cannot answer it. So if you are a minister and you come down and you are ill prepared, take it on notice. If you are a minister and you know the answer and you do not want that information in the public realm, take it on notice.
You only have to see the answer to a question that was put to the Chief Minister—Mr Honesty, Openness and Accountability himself—which only arrived with the committee yesterday and which came to members this morning. It is dated 15 June and it is to Mr Seselja from Jon Stanhope. It talks about how the recommendation that Actew apply timeliness to 83 per cent of its services came about. It is not an answer; they do not know where it came from, basically. But it came after the committee had finished its deliberations. It came when it could not be of use to the committee to determine what had happened in the minister’s department. That is the Jon Stanhope standard of honesty, openness and accountability.
According to paragraph 1.39 on page 9 of the report, when the committee was having its deliberations last week, only 16 per cent of the questions had been answered. So if you actually wanted to make an informed opinion, if you wanted to come to a
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