❓ Opposition questions the Minister for Emergency Services' confidence in the FESA CEO's contract renewal before and after the Keelty report, alleging complacency. The Minister defends his initial support, citing the Public Sector Commissioner's recommendation and the CEO's work with volunteers.
AnsweredQoN 487Legislative Assembly
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Fire and Emergency Services Authority — Jo Harrison-Ward
I refer to the minister’s comments during estimates on 31 May 2011 about the renewal of Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract and I quote — No. I did not consider deferring it until after those reviews … I think she has done a very good job as CEO of FESA since she has been there—contrary perhaps to what the member may think and what some others may think. For that reason, I had no reason to defer her contract renewal. (1) Why did the minister have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward in April when her renewal was announced, but not yesterday following the Keelty report’s release? (2) Does the minister’s defence of Jo Harrison-Ward at that time not demonstrate his complete complacency about problems in the Fire and Emergency Services Authority? (3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
I refer to the minister’s comments during estimates on 31 May 2011 about the renewal of Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract and I quote — No. I did not consider deferring it until after those reviews … I think she has done a very good job as CEO of FESA since she has been there—contrary perhaps to what the member may think and what some others may think. For that reason, I had no reason to defer her contract renewal. (1) Why did the minister have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward in April when her renewal was announced, but not yesterday following the Keelty report’s release? (2) Does the minister’s defence of Jo Harrison-Ward at that time not demonstrate his complete complacency about problems in the Fire and Emergency Services Authority? (3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
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(1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(2) Does the minister’s defence of Jo Harrison-Ward at that time not demonstrate his complete complacency about problems in the Fire and Emergency Services Authority? (3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(2) Does the minister’s defence of Jo Harrison-Ward at that time not demonstrate his complete complacency about problems in the Fire and Emergency Services Authority? (3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(3) When the political heat went on the minister, did he recommend Jo Harrison-Ward’s sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: (1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
(1)–(3) There has been some sort of confusion about when Jo Harrison-Ward’s contract was renewed. I was approached by the Public Sector Commissioner, Mal Wauchope, on 2 December last year. I quote from a letter he sent me, and I am happy to table these documents if the member does not have them already. The letter reads as follows — The term of appointment for Ms Jo Harrison-Ward in the above mentioned chief executive officer position will expire on 6 August 2011. Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you table your response to that correspondence? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Given the impending expiry of Ms Harrison-Ward’s term of appointment, I am required under delegated authority from the Premier, to obtain from you a recommendation as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
I would be obliged to receive your advice as to whether or not Ms Harrison-Ward should be reappointed. For your information, consultation has also been initiated with the Chairman of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is there on the same piece of paper. Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What was your response? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I supported the reappointment back in December of last year. Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question. Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Without talking to the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I met with the board fairly regularly, if we can call it that—from time to time. Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : How many times a year would you meet with the board? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : With the whole board? Not as often; probably once or twice a year possibly. But with the chairman, I meet very regularly—the chairman the previous government appointed. I appointed only one person on that board; the rest were appointed by the previous minister under the previous Labor government. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you meet with the chairman monthly or bimonthly or quarterly? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Probably — Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : You reappointed them all. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Be quiet, for goodness sake! The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Members! Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, the minister is accepting interjections from the person who has asked the question; I acknowledge that. I do not believe that the minister is accepting interjections from anyone else at this point. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : As I said, that was the first point of contact that I had—that was with the Public Sector Commissioner—back in December last year. In fact, it was 2 December, so very early on in December — Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Why did you have such confidence in Jo Harrison-Ward at that stage? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will answer that interjection in a moment. Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : It is a question, actually. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am sorry? Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s question (1). Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Give me chance to answer one question at a time, if you do not mind. The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The second area was when the Public Sector Commissioner wrote a letter to me, which I received on 7 April this year, to say that the Governor in Executive Council had approved the reappointment of Ms Harrison-Ward, which is the normal situation. This, of course, is all prior to the report from Mick Keelty. Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What date did the reappointment go to cabinet? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I think it was 31 January—way before the Kelmscott–Roleystone fire. Up until that stage, I had no reason not to support her reappointment. We are not going to demonise her. She was the head of the authority, and following the review of Keelty’s report, she obviously decided that she would stand aside. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you recommend her sacking to the Public Sector Commissioner? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have to say in her defence that she did a tremendous amount of work, particularly with all our volunteers. She travelled the state, and she also worked with me to ensure that they had the best possible equipment and facilities that they could get. There are some — Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : So you were complacent; you thought everything was hunky-dory. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Let me finish. Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You were complacent. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I am never complacent, my friend; I am not like you. In any organisation with 30 000-odd volunteers, there will always be some people who are not happy. I can say that overwhelmingly among the volunteers I have met since I have been the minister, and I have probably met quite a few thousand, I have had an overwhelming support for the job that she did, particularly for the volunteers. The United Firefighters Union did not like her, I know that, but I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that 33 000 volunteers — Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What attitude did you take to her standing aside? Did you recommend to the Public Sector Commissioner that she be stood aside? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I do not make recommendations. Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Did you advise him? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I did not advise the Public Sector Commissioner to take action; I was asked certain questions by the Public Sector Commissioner that I answered. He obviously then had a meeting. Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What were those questions and what did you answer? Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He had a meeting with Jo Harrison-Ward, and obviously the outcome of that meeting was that she decided to stand aside. What were the other questions? That is one; were there others? Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
Mr E.S. Ripper : There was a question about your complacency.
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