Page 4632 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019

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sometimes does not happen in as timely a way as we would expect. That is something that has come through, as I said, from the work that ANU is doing, and we will continue to emphasise the importance of managerial and leadership skills for the executives.

I want to praise the executives across Canberra Health Services and the Health Directorate. We have in place now an extremely strong leadership and executive team that is doing excellent work in embedding the values of both organisations, making it clear that they live those values, and making it clear that culture and behaviour are a priority across both organisations.

MISS C BURCH: Minister, how many executives have so far been identified as needing support and mentoring to develop their leadership skills and capabilities?

MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Miss Burch for the supplementary question. I will take it on notice in relation to the specific statement that was made in my ministerial statement. But I would note that most managers and leaders actually engage in ongoing professional development to ensure that their leadership and their management skills are up to date. As Mrs Kikkert said, it is actually a core competency of managers and leaders in organisations but it is also something that can consistently be improved.

If Miss C Burch would like some advice on some courses on leadership for those opposite, I am sure that we would be happy to provide some advice on some excellent leadership courses for any member of the opposition who would be interested in that kind of professional development.

ACT Health—workplace culture

MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Health. How many public servants and health workers have had their employment terminated in ACT Health and Canberra Health Services this year because they have been found to be the perpetrators of bullying and harassment?

MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Parton for the question. I will take the detail of that on notice, but it is absolutely clear that we are taking these issues of bullying and harassment very seriously. The former Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Ms Fitzharris, called the independent review into workplace culture within ACT public health services. We established the culture review oversight group and since I have been minister I have met with that group on 4 September and more recently on 19 November. We get feedback in relation to the improvements that people are seeing across both the ACT Health Directorate and Canberra Health Services.

Both Canberra Health Services and the ACT Health Directorate have worked very hard on their new vision and value statements expressing the behaviours that they expect to see from staff and what the staff expect to see from one another, and creating a culture where people are empowered to speak out when they see the wrong thing happening and behaviours they believe should not be tolerated. That work is


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