❓ Question regarding the government's responsibility for losses related to the finance brokers situation under the previous government. The Premier deflects, emphasizing the previous government's failure and demanding an apology, while distinguishing between political responsibility and legal liability.
AnsweredQoN 718Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
On 16 November 1999, in commenting on the finance brokers situation, the now Attorney General said that it was an undeniable fact that, in light of the documentary evidence, the board and the ministry had seriously let down the public, and that the Government should take responsibility for the losses that it caused. (1) Does the Premier agree with the Attorney General that the Government should take responsibility for these losses, or does he agree with the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, who said yesterday on ABC radio that he did not believe the State could be held liable? (2) Given the Premier’s assertion yesterday that the State will defend itself against legal action by investors, how does that sit with his personal commitment in a letter to investors three days before the election, in which he promised a cooperative approach to help victims recover funds? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(1) Does the Premier agree with the Attorney General that the Government should take responsibility for these losses, or does he agree with the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, who said yesterday on ABC radio that he did not believe the State could be held liable? (2) Given the Premier’s assertion yesterday that the State will defend itself against legal action by investors, how does that sit with his personal commitment in a letter to investors three days before the election, in which he promised a cooperative approach to help victims recover funds? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(2) Given the Premier’s assertion yesterday that the State will defend itself against legal action by investors, how does that sit with his personal commitment in a letter to investors three days before the election, in which he promised a cooperative approach to help victims recover funds? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money.
Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(1) Does the Premier agree with the Attorney General that the Government should take responsibility for these losses, or does he agree with the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, who said yesterday on ABC radio that he did not believe the State could be held liable? (2) Given the Premier’s assertion yesterday that the State will defend itself against legal action by investors, how does that sit with his personal commitment in a letter to investors three days before the election, in which he promised a cooperative approach to help victims recover funds? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(2) Given the Premier’s assertion yesterday that the State will defend itself against legal action by investors, how does that sit with his personal commitment in a letter to investors three days before the election, in which he promised a cooperative approach to help victims recover funds? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
(1)-(2) The Opposition has the gall to come into this Parliament and call upon this side of the House to accept responsibility for a scandal that occurred while it was in government! When will the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition apologise to the people of Western Australia for the failure of their Government? Will they do it now? When will they apologise to the people of Western Australia? Let me get to the nub of the question. I have made the distinction between political responsibility and legal liability in the public debate on this matter for three years now. Of course the previous Government was responsible for this scandal. It failed to administer this State properly. The signals were sent to the former minister and he failed to act. We can say this about that political responsibility: we have a new member for Alfred Cove. We can safely say that, as a result of a decision made by the Australian Labor Party to allow the election of the member for Alfred Cove to be in effect an election on the finance brokers industry, the people of Alfred Cove made their views very clear on behalf of the people of Western Australia. When shall we get an apology from the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Liberal Party? This is what the Liberal Party did when it was in government. A problem emerged and it tried to cover it up. Why did it try to cover it up? Because the links between that scandal and the Liberal Party were obvious for every Western Australian to see. When will members opposite apologise for the inaction of their Government, which led to thousands of Western Australians losing their savings? I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
I turn now to the question of legal liability. There are people in Western Australia who say that the taxpayers of Western Australia should pay for the resolution of these particular problems. I do not own the taxpayers’ money. I am responsible for protecting the taxpayers’ money.
Dr GALLOP: When are we to hear the apology from the Leader of the Opposition? We want to hear that apology, because the Liberal Party is full of guilt on this question. I will ensure that the taxpayers’ money is fully protected if a case is taken up. At the same time, we are providing assistance to the victims in this crisis to get their money back from those who were responsible. Let us go through it: there is a clear distinction between political responsibility and legal liability. We are fulfilling our promises on this issue through the royal commission and the support we are giving to individual Western Australians to get their money back from those who stole it. However, there is a missing link in the equation of accountability: the apology to the people of Western Australia from the Liberal Party. Where is it, Leader of the Opposition? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
The SPEAKER: Members should allow me at least to give the call.
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