Page 3094 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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But let me be very clear: whilst it may have been described and why the intent may have been right, the execution and the structure had no place and was completely inappropriate. So we need to be very clear that the two things are not the same.
Schools—autism
MRS JONES: My question is to the minister for education. Regarding the cage structure incident, what education expertise did the investigator from Shared Services have? Further to this, was the investigator from Shared Services an employee of the ACT government and how was he or she chosen?
MS BURCH: The lead investigator was an independent investigator through Shared Services and the investigation was carried out under the public service teaching enterprise agreement. They also had reference to the Public Service Management Act and to expectations around professional standards. So there was a very clear framework about how this investigation was considered and the lens which it went through.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Was the investigator an employee of the government and why is the review described as independent if it is not independent?
MS BURCH: The independent investigator was from Shared Services; it is a part of government. It is called independent because it is absolutely at arm’s length from the directorate of which the person is an employee and certainly at arm’s length from a minister’s office. And through the Public Service Management Act, through the teachers enterprise agreement, through the other filters such as the ACT’s school leadership strategy and the teachers professional code of practice—all of those elements—that was the lens through which this investigation was handled and worked through.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, who was the delegate referred to in the time line of events published in the report?
MS BURCH: It is not my practice to release names or provide names of the individuals, the investigators or the delegate. But the name of the delegate is on public record through the Canberra Times.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, what further investigations were requested by the delegate, as published in the report time line?
MS BURCH: It is my understanding that when the investigation report was provided to the delegate, as is proper and right, if there were further questions or further information that he needed to come to his decision, he sought them. That is what he did, which is the right and proper way to go about a review such as this.
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