❓ Question regarding the government's response to the CCC report on corruption within the North Metropolitan Health Service and actions to ensure public sector confidence. The Minister outlines actions taken and criticizes previous finance ministers.
AnsweredQoN 561Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORRUPTION AND CRIME COMMISSION —NORTH
METROPOLITAN HEALTH SERVICE — MISCONDUCT — GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
561. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Minister for Health:
I would just like to acknowledge in
the Speaker's gallery today a number of school principals from local
primary schools in the Joondalup electorate.
I refer to the disturbing findings
of the CCC report into corruption and bribery within the North Metropolitan
Health Service and the statement that the minister just provided to the house,
outlining the action this government is taking in response to that report. Can
the minister outline to the house why this government has taken this action,
and can he outline why this action is important in ensuring there is confidence
in our public sector?
METROPOLITAN HEALTH SERVICE — MISCONDUCT — GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
561. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Minister for Health:
I would just like to acknowledge in
the Speaker's gallery today a number of school principals from local
primary schools in the Joondalup electorate.
I refer to the disturbing findings
of the CCC report into corruption and bribery within the North Metropolitan
Health Service and the statement that the minister just provided to the house,
outlining the action this government is taking in response to that report. Can
the minister outline to the house why this government has taken this action,
and can he outline why this action is important in ensuring there is confidence
in our public sector?
AnswerView source ↗
The report from the CCC exposes an
abhorrent and elaborate scam by a number of public servants and public
officers, who betrayed the trust of not only those they work with, but also the
people of Western Australia. Our health system is there to look after the sick
and injured. People working in the health system have a very important
responsibility. The dishonesty that these officers brought to their positions
betrayed the culture, the very values, of our health sector and our public
sector generally. This is an appalling betrayal of trust and the government has
no time for anyone who rips off the taxpayers. We will do everything in our
grasp to make sure we get to the bottom of this matter and that we bring the
full extent of the law against these public officers. These situations make us
bloody angry. They make us very frustrated, because we know that our public
sector is better than this. We know that the people working in it are better
than this. The work of these three individuals has damaged the reputation of
many who work in the health system. I expect to throw the book at these people.
I have written to the director general telling him of my deep concern. I want
to know what immediate actions the department will take in responding to this
report.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr R.H. COOK : I want to know
the compliance activities each health service provider is taking in respect of
the existing procurement policies and procedures, and I want to know how we can
strengthen, enforce and monitor existing procurement policies and procedures.
This is on top of the Public Sector Commission's instruction to all
government departments to audit their current contracts and determine whether
there are any existing contracts with those named in the Corruption and Crime
Commission report. The Public Sector Commission will then coordinate an
independent review of all the contracts identified in the audit. This
government has already taken action to suspend those contractors from getting
future government work until the review is finalised. I want to assure the
public that we are doing everything we can to make sure that we implement the
details of this report. We cannot allow taxpayers to continue to be ripped off
in this deplorable way.
As I said, the member for
Churchlands made some comments about this being an indictment of the health
sector. This is not an indictment of the health sector. This is an indictment
of three individuals who sought to defraud and betray the trust of the people
of Western Australia. I expect the member for Churchlands to issue an apology
to all 44 000 members of the health system who work there, day in, day out, to
make sure that we provide a great service to the sick and injured of Western Australia.
What is extraordinary is that we now
have the opposition calling for an independent inquiry and calling for
oversight in relation to this matter. The CCC has undertaken this inquiry, the
Public Sector Commissioner has started his audit and, in addition to that, we
have the special inquiry into government programs and projects. The problems
that now beset us in relation to some of these matters should —
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, I call you to order for the first time. I warned you once.
Mr R.H. COOK : The problem we
are now stuck with should have come under the purview of four finance ministers—four
failed finance ministers, including the member for Churchlands when he was in
that role, and let us not forget the member for Bateman; Lord knows what he did
before he was removed! There was the member for Riverton —
Mr D.C. Nalder : If you're
going to make an accusation, don't —
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman! Member for Bateman, this is not a chat-fest.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, I did
not make any allegations. All I said was that you were the Minister for Finance
and you were removed.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Through the Chair.
Mr R.H. COOK : Thank you, Mr Speaker. The member for
Nedlands also had a role in that capacity and, of course, the member for
Riverton was once upon a time Minister for Finance. As the CCC observed, the
public sector needs to be more vigilant and aware of its responsibilities in
contract management and procurement. We saw,
before this process, a conga line of failed finance ministers, setting us up
for these situations and, quite frankly —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman, I warned you three
times. I call you to order for the first time.
Mr R.H. COOK : The special inquiry made the following
observations of the member for Riverton. It said that under him, Synergy and
Western Power appeared to, quote —
Point of Order
Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE :
The minister has been on his feet for some time and is now digressing well off
the subject of the question.
The SPEAKER : No, I do
not think so, but the minister will come to an end. He has been up for a while.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think it is
important that members understand that the special inquiry, according to my
notes, made the observation that the member for Riverton —
''disregarded good
practice wilfully and failed to properly evaluate tenders''
According to my notes, the inquiry also noted that in 2015,
the then Minister for Energy —
''could not specifically
justify Synergy's engagement of consulting firms and would not disclose
the value of contracts''.
We will get to the bottom of these matters and we will
resolve these issues and ensure that we get on top of them. We have had a lot
to deal with over our first 17 months in government in respect of the failures
of the previous government, and we will now move again to fix the mess left by
the previous side.
abhorrent and elaborate scam by a number of public servants and public
officers, who betrayed the trust of not only those they work with, but also the
people of Western Australia. Our health system is there to look after the sick
and injured. People working in the health system have a very important
responsibility. The dishonesty that these officers brought to their positions
betrayed the culture, the very values, of our health sector and our public
sector generally. This is an appalling betrayal of trust and the government has
no time for anyone who rips off the taxpayers. We will do everything in our
grasp to make sure we get to the bottom of this matter and that we bring the
full extent of the law against these public officers. These situations make us
bloody angry. They make us very frustrated, because we know that our public
sector is better than this. We know that the people working in it are better
than this. The work of these three individuals has damaged the reputation of
many who work in the health system. I expect to throw the book at these people.
I have written to the director general telling him of my deep concern. I want
to know what immediate actions the department will take in responding to this
report.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr R.H. COOK : I want to know
the compliance activities each health service provider is taking in respect of
the existing procurement policies and procedures, and I want to know how we can
strengthen, enforce and monitor existing procurement policies and procedures.
This is on top of the Public Sector Commission's instruction to all
government departments to audit their current contracts and determine whether
there are any existing contracts with those named in the Corruption and Crime
Commission report. The Public Sector Commission will then coordinate an
independent review of all the contracts identified in the audit. This
government has already taken action to suspend those contractors from getting
future government work until the review is finalised. I want to assure the
public that we are doing everything we can to make sure that we implement the
details of this report. We cannot allow taxpayers to continue to be ripped off
in this deplorable way.
As I said, the member for
Churchlands made some comments about this being an indictment of the health
sector. This is not an indictment of the health sector. This is an indictment
of three individuals who sought to defraud and betray the trust of the people
of Western Australia. I expect the member for Churchlands to issue an apology
to all 44 000 members of the health system who work there, day in, day out, to
make sure that we provide a great service to the sick and injured of Western Australia.
What is extraordinary is that we now
have the opposition calling for an independent inquiry and calling for
oversight in relation to this matter. The CCC has undertaken this inquiry, the
Public Sector Commissioner has started his audit and, in addition to that, we
have the special inquiry into government programs and projects. The problems
that now beset us in relation to some of these matters should —
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, I call you to order for the first time. I warned you once.
Mr R.H. COOK : The problem we
are now stuck with should have come under the purview of four finance ministers—four
failed finance ministers, including the member for Churchlands when he was in
that role, and let us not forget the member for Bateman; Lord knows what he did
before he was removed! There was the member for Riverton —
Mr D.C. Nalder : If you're
going to make an accusation, don't —
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman! Member for Bateman, this is not a chat-fest.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, I did
not make any allegations. All I said was that you were the Minister for Finance
and you were removed.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Through the Chair.
Mr R.H. COOK : Thank you, Mr Speaker. The member for
Nedlands also had a role in that capacity and, of course, the member for
Riverton was once upon a time Minister for Finance. As the CCC observed, the
public sector needs to be more vigilant and aware of its responsibilities in
contract management and procurement. We saw,
before this process, a conga line of failed finance ministers, setting us up
for these situations and, quite frankly —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman, I warned you three
times. I call you to order for the first time.
Mr R.H. COOK : The special inquiry made the following
observations of the member for Riverton. It said that under him, Synergy and
Western Power appeared to, quote —
Point of Order
Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE :
The minister has been on his feet for some time and is now digressing well off
the subject of the question.
The SPEAKER : No, I do
not think so, but the minister will come to an end. He has been up for a while.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think it is
important that members understand that the special inquiry, according to my
notes, made the observation that the member for Riverton —
''disregarded good
practice wilfully and failed to properly evaluate tenders''
According to my notes, the inquiry also noted that in 2015,
the then Minister for Energy —
''could not specifically
justify Synergy's engagement of consulting firms and would not disclose
the value of contracts''.
We will get to the bottom of these matters and we will
resolve these issues and ensure that we get on top of them. We have had a lot
to deal with over our first 17 months in government in respect of the failures
of the previous government, and we will now move again to fix the mess left by
the previous side.
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