❓ The Leader of the Opposition questioned the Energy Minister about the Western Power MD's travel to Melbourne. The Minister defended the MD, accusing the Leader of the Opposition of defamation and political opportunism.
AnsweredQoN 938Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to his comments on Radio 6PR on 15 August 2003 regarding the new Managing Director of Western Power, who leaves work sometimes as early as Wednesday to travel to Melbourne and returns to work sometimes as late as the Monday morning of the following week. I quote the minister: “That matter wasn’t raised with me.” (1) How does the minister reconcile his statement with the statement by the Managing Director of Western Power later that same day in which he said, “I had a meeting with Eric prior to me accepting the job and . . . I made the point . . . that I would have to go back a number of weekends . . .”? (2) Was the minister aware of the new managing director’s intention to return regularly to Melbourne? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(1) How does the minister reconcile his statement with the statement by the Managing Director of Western Power later that same day in which he said, “I had a meeting with Eric prior to me accepting the job and . . . I made the point . . . that I would have to go back a number of weekends . . .”? (2) Was the minister aware of the new managing director’s intention to return regularly to Melbourne? Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(2) Was the minister aware of the new managing director’s intention to return regularly to Melbourne? Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that -
The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that -
Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(1) How does the minister reconcile his statement with the statement by the Managing Director of Western Power later that same day in which he said, “I had a meeting with Eric prior to me accepting the job and . . . I made the point . . . that I would have to go back a number of weekends . . .”? (2) Was the minister aware of the new managing director’s intention to return regularly to Melbourne? Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(2) Was the minister aware of the new managing director’s intention to return regularly to Melbourne? Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: (1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
(1)-(2) It would be excellent if the Leader of the Opposition corrected the record and apologised to Dr Stephen van der Mye. In a press release that the Leader of the Opposition put out at 2.15 pm last Thursday, ahead of his asking the question in this House - therefore, without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - he defamed Dr Stephen van der Mye because he asserted that he spent as much time in Melbourne as he did in Perth. That is false. He implied that Dr van der Mye commuted at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. He asserted that Dr van der Mye ordered limousines at taxpayers’ expense. That is false. The tragedy is that the Leader of the Opposition lacked the decency to ring Dr Stephen van der Mye and check the facts before he issued a press release and before he asked questions about the matter in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has lowered the standard of public debate in this State as a consequence. It is not as though these circumstances have not occurred before. When I was the shadow Minister for Education, people complained to me about the then Director General of Education, who was commuting between Western Australia and the eastern States. That was a condition of her employment, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer. I did not raise that issue because I thought that was a personal matter relating to her employment and her personal life. I considered her performance in the job - not her family arrangements - to be important. I did not raise that matter. However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that - Several members interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
However, the Leader of the Opposition raised this matter last Thursday. Why did he do that? That was the day when Western Power had successfully managed the gas shortage that resulted from the maintenance of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline and it successfully handled the contracts that had been left to it when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Energy. By raising false allegations about the Chief Executive Officer of Western Power, the Leader of the Opposition sought to rain on Western Power’s parade on a day when it successfully managed a very difficult period. The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that -
The assumption behind the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that there is something wrong with a man travelling back to Melbourne to see his 13-year-old twin daughters and his wife. I do not think that -
Mr E.S. RIPPER: Just be quiet and show respect for the facts. When the Government hires someone, it does not hire him for 168 hours a week. The Government does not hire his wife or his 13-year-old daughters. The Government hires people to do a job. When I interviewed Dr Stephen van der Mye before his appointment was finalised, he advised me that he did not think it would be wise for him to take his 13-year-old daughters out of school in the middle of a school year. I was not aware of the full extent of Dr Stephen van der Mye’s travel plans. However, that does not matter. Had I been fully aware of his travel plans, I would have concurred with the board’s recommendation that he be appointed. After all, the board had been through an exhaustive search process. Only people from the eastern States were on the short list. People with expertise like theirs are difficult to find in Western Australia. Dr van der Mye brought with him experience as the head of Nemco Pty Ltd, the company that manages the eastern States’ electricity market. It was an excellent decision to recruit the former head of Nemco as the managing director of Western Power during a period of reform in which the Government is creating an electricity market in this State. I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
I am not the only person to think that Dr Stephen van der Mye is doing an excellent job. I have a media release from the Deputy Chairman of Western Power, Mr Neil Hamilton, which says that the board of directors is confident about Dr van der Mye’s ability to manage the company competently. That is confirmed by management’s handling of the challenge of the past 12 days, when there have been limits on the amounts of gas available for electricity generation. Usual electricity supplies were maintained. Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The member for Hillarys just interjected and asked whether Mr Neil Hamilton is one of the Government’s appointees? The Opposition has moved on from Dr Stephen van der Mye to an attack on Mr Hamilton. It appears that anyone the Labor Government deals with will be subject to attack from these people opposite. I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition be a man and stand up in the Parliament and correct his false allegations about Stephen van der Mye and apologise to him.
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