Page 1661 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 1 May 2012
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What is also indisputable is that Katy Gallagher waited six days—and this was after questioning from the opposition—before disclosing her conflict of interest on this issue. And what is her fix? Her fix is that her deputy will oversee it. That will fix it! If Andrew Barr oversees it then Katy Gallagher’s personal conflict will somehow be washed away! I am sure Andrew Barr will be doing that job independently! He will be overseeing it independently! He will not be seeking to do the bidding of Katy Gallagher! He will not be seeking to protect the government and the Chief Minister and the health minister! Of course he will. That is what he will be doing, and there is no doubt about that.
But it is an extraordinary day when we have the Chief Minister stepping aside from an inquiry because of her personal conflict over this issue. So, for all the talk, for all the attempts to compare this to bus drivers and the other thousands of ACT government workers, it does not stack up.
I think that it is also untenable for the government to continue to hide who this individual is, given it is now highly relevant. It is highly relevant. They have said there is a conflict of interest. They will not say what kind of conflict of interest. We do not know how senior this individual is but we know that health department staff, people in the hospital, talk and I think it is probably by now well known who the individual is and what the conflict of interest is. And it might be about time that Ms Gallagher stopped hiding behind it and actually disclosed the full nature of this conflict of interest and was completely up-front with the community rather than continuing to hide.
I would also say briefly to the individual involved, if they acted alone, completely alone, then I think the book should be thrown at them. But if they were pressured in some way then it is not their fault. It is not that individual’s fault. If they were pressured or pushed or prodded with a nod and a wink then it is not their fault. If they acted alone then they should wear the serious consequences that go with this kind of thing.
Finally, I note the attempts to limit the Auditor-General through these amendments. We do not agree with them. I would say to the Auditor-General that we have confidence in the Auditor-General to conduct a proper inquiry and not be limited by the Labor Party and not be limited by the Greens. Get to the bottom of this grubby matter. (Time expired.)
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.02): Today we have seen, very clearly, the ethical and considered approach by the Chief Minister to deal with what is a difficult and complex matter. It has been the Chief Minister who has determined that, to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest, she should not be the minister responsible for dealing with the outcomes of internal investigations and, indeed, any potential Auditor-General’s investigation that occurs in relation to this most unfortunate set of circumstances.
This has not been an easy or straightforward decision to make but it is the right decision to make. Yet we have, from those opposite, an attempt to criticise the Chief
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