Page 2427 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 June 2011
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We can go right through the last 10 years of government. We can talk about shutting down the coronial; we can talk about all of the ways that this government has not lived up to that promise that Jon Stanhope made, because we all remember that Jon Stanhope made the same promise. He was going to be open and accountable, and we know that he was not. There are thousands of examples of how he was not.
Let us focus on what this Chief Minister can do differently. Here is the challenge. If Katy Gallagher wants to be taken seriously on being open and accountable, here are a couple of tests: release the Costello review. The Costello review is still having an impact. The Costello review was at the heart of many of the tax increases that people face, many of the changes, including things like school closures. So why not just open it up? It has now been several years. There are parts of the world where cabinet documents would be released in less time. The Costello review is now a few years old. There is no reason why it cannot be released.
With respect to the review into bullying at Canberra Hospital, the Chief Minister is capable of having either an open inquiry or releasing the information. There is the capacity to do that. She can now have the open inquiry that she refused to have. So there is another test, if the Chief Minister is serious about this.
I have not seen what the latest is in relation to the Flynn action, but I understand they are still seeking access to documents. Why doesn’t the Chief Minister order that the Flynn community get access to the documents that demonstrate why its school was closed down?
So there is an opportunity. We can talk about the election promises that Katy Gallagher broke over the last couple of elections. We can talk about what has happened over many years, but here it is. Here is the chance right now. If you are fair dinkum about it, release the Costello review. Be open about bullying in Canberra Hospital. Support open inquiries in areas such as Bimberi and in relation to Doug Buchanan. There are areas and opportunity. Just today we have been debating it. There is an opportunity right now to be fair dinkum.
If you do not do those things, we can only assume that your promise to be open and accountable will be just as empty as Jon Stanhope’s. Jon Stanhope’s promise to be open and accountable was an empty promise. He did not back it up. He did everything he could to shut down the coronial inquiry. He did everything he could to suppress the documents in relation to the power station. He failed that test.
Katy Gallagher has the opportunity not to fail that test. In the last few years she has failed that test. She is now Chief Minister. She now says she has a renewed commitment to openness and transparency. Well, here are the tests. If you release those documents, you will show that you are doing things differently. If she does not, we can assume that this is nothing more than spin. Say a few words in the chamber and then say: “We’re now open and accountable. We’ve got a website. We’re open and accountable. We are on Twitter, so we’re open and accountable.” That is rubbish.
If you are genuine, you will do things differently. You will release some of these documents, you will be open about these inquiries, you will be open about the
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