❓ Mr. Johnson questions the Premier about the high number of seconded, department-paid, or placed staff in ministerial offices. The Premier defends the practice as promoting public servant development and interchange between departments and ministerial offices.
AnsweredQoN 176Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I feel sorry for the Premier; he has not had a question today, so I thought I would help him out. I refer the Premier to recent questions on notice about ministerial offices, which showed that an inordinate number of the employees attached to 15 of these offices were either seconded - 17; paid for by other government departments - two; or placed - nine. Can the Premier explain why such a large number of officers employed in ministerial offices are employed under these arrangements? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
This is a strange question. Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: This is a strange question. Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
This is a strange question. Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: This is a strange question. Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
This is a strange question. Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Mr R.F. Johnson : What - you cannot answer it? Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. GALLOP : I can answer it. One of the objectives of this government is to promote our public servants. We have made it clear that if someone joins the public service in Western Australia to work for the government of Western Australia, we will encourage that profession. The Leader of the House has initiated an excellent committee that is chaired by Professor John Yovich and is advising us on how we can improve the status of our public servants. We have changed the industrial relations framework for public servants in this state. Many more public servants are now working in secure positions in the public service and they know they have careers ahead of them. I have a strategic management council in which I meet with the heads of all the departments. One of the items on the agenda of that council, and which I am pushing very hard, is to make sure there is proper education and training for our public servants. I believe very strongly that we should have more interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I compliment the former Premier, Richard Court, on this issue, because when I was Leader of the Opposition he allowed me to second someone from one of the government departments to work in my office. I believe that person made enormous gains in professional development from that move. We want to encourage our public servants. Ministerial officers are an important part of our system of government. Many people who have been ministerial officers in Canberra over the years have moved on to very senior positions. One of those persons is Dennis Richardson, who has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to the United States of America. Dennis Richardson once worked in Bob Hawke’s ministerial office, and he is highly respected on all sides of politics. The answer to the question is simple. We want to encourage interchange between ministerial offices and departments. I have in my office a secondee from the Water Corporation to assist me on water issues. That is a good thing. For the member for Hillarys to come in here and question what we are doing to encourage our public servants to upgrade their profession skills and give them a chance to work at the highest levels of government indicates how backward the Liberal Party is when it comes to thinking about the future of Western Australia.
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