Page 3483 - Week 11 - Thursday, 19 September 2013
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contributed to it. Regardless of the reason for it, it has been a failure of process, and I think we all accept that. So the job of mine is to fix a failure of process, and I have done that.
After question time I will be tabling executive contracts that maintain and keep us up to date with the changing contractual arrangements that have been put in place since the last sitting of the Assembly, which I now understand is the first time, probably since the late 1990s, that has been the case.
Government—executive contracts
MR SMYTH: My question is to the Attorney-General and Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development. Minister, last month the government tabled executive contracts of which 27 referred to executives engaged in the JACS and ESD directorates for which you are responsible. Some of these contracts were for over $350,000 per annum and averaged $250,000 per annum. Amongst these contracts was one executive who worked for 268 days before signing a contract, and this contract was not tabled before the Assembly for 308 days. Another executive working in an area of compliance worked for 182 days without a contract and 171 days before signing a performance agreement. One executive contract was signed but not dated and another executive was engaged using a series of short-term contracts issued on multiple occasions for a period totalling two years. Minister, how many more executive contracts from your directorates will be tabled that do not comply with the Public Service Management Act?
MR CORBELL: These are matters that the Chief Minister has explained at length, Madam Speaker. My directorate has taken all appropriate steps to address any shortcomings in documentation, as are other directorates across the government.
Mr Hanson: On a point of order on relevance, Madam Speaker, the question specifically was: how many outstanding contracts from the directorate will be tabled? If he does not have an answer to that and does not know, he should say, “I don’t know,” but he should be relevant to the nub of the question—that is, how many outstanding contracts are there that do not comply?
MADAM SPEAKER: My notes on the question actually say, “How many contracts will be tabled?” Attorney, in accordance with standing orders, I ask you to be directly relevant to the question.
MR CORBELL: I have concluded my answer.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, how does the mismanagement of executive contracts impact on the performance of your directorates?
MR CORBELL: My directorates are working very hard and very professionally. All of my senior executives in both directorates, in my view, do an outstanding job and make a very significant contribution to our community. So I do not think there is anything to back up the assertion in Mr Smyth’s question.
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