Page 2503 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 1 August 2018
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Auditor-General to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner. There are opportunities internally within the Health Directorate as well.
It is the government’s view that a long and expensive formal board of inquiry process would not address individuals’ concerns quickly and satisfactorily and would be an unnecessary diversion of resources away from front-line health service delivery for our community.
We believe that the process that has been outlined through the amendment that Minister Rattenbury has moved, both on his behalf and on behalf of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, is the approach that the Assembly should take today. As I say, I respect that there will be a variety of views on this matter, as there always are in debates in the Assembly. But the government’s view is that the next $20 million to $50 million that we invest should be invested in health services for the people of Canberra, not in an expensive and unnecessary legal process. I commend Minister Rattenbury’s amendment to the Assembly.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (11.48): It is, quite frankly, disappointing that the party of the workers, so to speak, are not concerned about the welfare of their workers in such a vital front-line area. I understand second-hand from colleagues that Ms Fitzharris was on the radio this morning, I think on ABC radio, basically dismissing this motion as a political stunt—that is the term that I understand she has used most often—and decrying, as the Chief Minister has, the possible expense.
Of course, when you are coming up with an argument about why you should do things, you come up with a very large sum of money and compare it to the banking royal commission. It is interesting that the Chief Minister did not compare it to the royal commission into institutional child abuse, which is probably the sort of issue that is more comparable. I suspect he does not think that that was a waste of money.
Ms Fitzharris, in her statement this morning, called this a political stunt. She is either unaware of or wants to ignore the extent of bullying in the ACT Health system. I notice that Mr Rattenbury has been at great pains to say, “That is all behind us,” as though there has been some magic line drawn in the sand and everything has changed. It is not all behind us. I will refer in a few moments to something that is current.
If this is a political stunt, it is a political stunt on Ms Fitzharris’s part, because Ms Fitzharris seems only to be able to respond to things at a political level. Everything that she does is through the prism of “How will this play out politically?” That is an admirable attribute for someone in politics, but from time to time you have to be a little rational, and sometimes a little empathetic, in dealing with public policy issues as well.
Mr Rattenbury, Ms Fitzharris and Mr Barr have said that a board of inquiry is not necessary. I think this shows that none of them cares; nor are they willing to take responsibility for the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and their families. This is principally about staff. I have had complaints of bullying of clients by staff at the hospital, but the vast numbers of complaints are about staff on staff. While
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