❓ A parliamentary question addresses allegations of a 'purple circle' dominating decision-making within the Department of Environmental Protection following a merger. The Minister responds by defending the review process, urging all to read the report, and stating there are no plans to terminate anyone.
AnsweredQoN 621Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to the management and structural review of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Water and Rivers Commission that was carried out by Derek Carew-Hopkins in March 2003 and reported in The West Australian of 4 April 2003, which stated - . . . a small number of directors dominating decision-making in what some staff referred to as “the purple circle” or “the boys club”. Given that the minister has directed senior staff in mid 2001 to adopt a hands-on approach to addressing the malaise within the Department of Environmental Protection following its merger with the Water and Rivers Commission, does the minister consider it appropriate to target the same people - the so-called purple circle - as the cause of the department’s myriad problems when they were doing exactly what they had been told to do by the minister? Dr J.M. EDWARDS
AnswerView source ↗
The tone of the question indicates that the member has not read this good and comprehensive report and I urge him to do so. The reviewer went into the agency and spoke to numerous people and held meetings with small, larger and very large groups, received submissions, and he also went into the community to collect information. During the course of that review, a number of allegations were made to the reviewer about particular behaviours that occurred in the past. I have not sought any information about those matters because I do not believe it would be appropriate to do so. I have said to the reviewer that any allegation must be followed up. We have certainly discussed that allegations - again, I do not know their content - will be followed up with the Public Sector Management Office and other matters through grievance procedures. To answer the question more directly, I have no plans to terminate anyone. If the chief executive officer determines in looking at the recommended structures of the divisions that changes are needed, that option is open to the CEO, as is the case with any agency. The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: The tone of the question indicates that the member has not read this good and comprehensive report and I urge him to do so. The reviewer went into the agency and spoke to numerous people and held meetings with small, larger and very large groups, received submissions, and he also went into the community to collect information. During the course of that review, a number of allegations were made to the reviewer about particular behaviours that occurred in the past. I have not sought any information about those matters because I do not believe it would be appropriate to do so. I have said to the reviewer that any allegation must be followed up. We have certainly discussed that allegations - again, I do not know their content - will be followed up with the Public Sector Management Office and other matters through grievance procedures. To answer the question more directly, I have no plans to terminate anyone. If the chief executive officer determines in looking at the recommended structures of the divisions that changes are needed, that option is open to the CEO, as is the case with any agency. The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
The tone of the question indicates that the member has not read this good and comprehensive report and I urge him to do so. The reviewer went into the agency and spoke to numerous people and held meetings with small, larger and very large groups, received submissions, and he also went into the community to collect information. During the course of that review, a number of allegations were made to the reviewer about particular behaviours that occurred in the past. I have not sought any information about those matters because I do not believe it would be appropriate to do so. I have said to the reviewer that any allegation must be followed up. We have certainly discussed that allegations - again, I do not know their content - will be followed up with the Public Sector Management Office and other matters through grievance procedures. To answer the question more directly, I have no plans to terminate anyone. If the chief executive officer determines in looking at the recommended structures of the divisions that changes are needed, that option is open to the CEO, as is the case with any agency. The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: The tone of the question indicates that the member has not read this good and comprehensive report and I urge him to do so. The reviewer went into the agency and spoke to numerous people and held meetings with small, larger and very large groups, received submissions, and he also went into the community to collect information. During the course of that review, a number of allegations were made to the reviewer about particular behaviours that occurred in the past. I have not sought any information about those matters because I do not believe it would be appropriate to do so. I have said to the reviewer that any allegation must be followed up. We have certainly discussed that allegations - again, I do not know their content - will be followed up with the Public Sector Management Office and other matters through grievance procedures. To answer the question more directly, I have no plans to terminate anyone. If the chief executive officer determines in looking at the recommended structures of the divisions that changes are needed, that option is open to the CEO, as is the case with any agency. The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
The tone of the question indicates that the member has not read this good and comprehensive report and I urge him to do so. The reviewer went into the agency and spoke to numerous people and held meetings with small, larger and very large groups, received submissions, and he also went into the community to collect information. During the course of that review, a number of allegations were made to the reviewer about particular behaviours that occurred in the past. I have not sought any information about those matters because I do not believe it would be appropriate to do so. I have said to the reviewer that any allegation must be followed up. We have certainly discussed that allegations - again, I do not know their content - will be followed up with the Public Sector Management Office and other matters through grievance procedures. To answer the question more directly, I have no plans to terminate anyone. If the chief executive officer determines in looking at the recommended structures of the divisions that changes are needed, that option is open to the CEO, as is the case with any agency. The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
The second part of the question again indicates clearly that the member has not read the report. One difficulty with the report is that it lays out a long history of things not being right, and the culture of the organisation not properly responding to the people. It refers to a management which is very hands-off and which had become devoid of technical expertise. The report provides clear indications of the way forward. I encourage all people involved to read the report and to see this as a healing process. I have acknowledged that a lot of pain occurs with these processes. I sent an e-mail to staff at the end of last week when the report came out. I now urge them to put it behind them and to pick up the positive aspects, particularly in light of the other reviews that have provided very practical measures with licensing and enforcement, and to move forward to a positive new era that is more responsive to the community.
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