❓ Opposition MP Love questions the Minister for Mines and Petroleum's competence regarding Gold Corporation's insurance and overall handling of AML/CTF issues. The Minister defends his actions, criticizes the previous government's inaction, and argues that detailed insurance knowledge is a management responsibility, not the Minister's.
AnsweredQoN 251Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GOLD CORPORATION — INSURANCE COVER
251. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I
have a supplementary question. I think I have the answer there, that the
minister is actually not across his portfolio.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Leader of the Opposition, this is not an opportunity for a comment; it is an
opportunity to ask a supplementary question.
Mr R.S. LOVE : Will the
minister use the upcoming five-week break to consider his position and whether
he should continue as a minister?
251. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I
have a supplementary question. I think I have the answer there, that the
minister is actually not across his portfolio.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Leader of the Opposition, this is not an opportunity for a comment; it is an
opportunity to ask a supplementary question.
Mr R.S. LOVE : Will the
minister use the upcoming five-week break to consider his position and whether
he should continue as a minister?
AnswerView source ↗
I am not quite sure —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Minister, I would really like you to be heard. Thank you.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : I was not
quite sure whether I would get the call from the Speaker, because I was not
sure whether it was a supplementary question.
I just want to make a couple of
points here. The Leader of the Opposition pretends in the media that somehow he
has led the discussion on the challenges around anti–money laundering
and counterterrorism financing challenges. I remind him, it was actually nearly
two years after I had raised AMLCTF challenges before the first question was
asked. The problem with the way that this member has conducted himself is that
he is a follower and not a leader. I also note that when we came to government,
we did not realise that the former government had done nothing to get Gold Corporation
into order. It was only with the Premier's actions on coming to
government that we started to see improvements to Gold Corporation, which I have
been happy to take further. I will just make the point that the only reason
there have been improvements at Gold Corporation is because we have taken the
bull by the horns and acted, unlike the former government. I always wonder—there
is only one former minister over there.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : How many
times was Gold Corporation discussed at cabinet? How many times were the
minutes—these are all the questions they ask me—tabled when
that member was at the cabinet table? It is funny how those issues are never
raised. It is these ridiculous questions. Let me go to the question that is
asked about the question of the insurance policies.
Guess what? I also do not know the
details of the policies held by Western Power, Synergy or Horizon Power, and
why would I? They are matters for management at the company. I represent the
shareholders. The idea that a shareholder of
Westpac knows the details of the insurance policies held by Westpac is
ridiculous. It is so ridiculous that nobody would even contemplate it.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : This is the
problem. This member does nothing, works nothing, achieves nothing and then
complains when we do work.
The SPEAKER : Members, particularly
the opposition, when you ask a very open-ended question like that, you end up
with a very open-ended answer, which probably does not assist anyone. If the
question is open-ended, I will allow an
open-ended answer. Normally, I would expect a more specific answer, but how can
you do that if a specific question is not asked?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Minister, I would really like you to be heard. Thank you.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : I was not
quite sure whether I would get the call from the Speaker, because I was not
sure whether it was a supplementary question.
I just want to make a couple of
points here. The Leader of the Opposition pretends in the media that somehow he
has led the discussion on the challenges around anti–money laundering
and counterterrorism financing challenges. I remind him, it was actually nearly
two years after I had raised AMLCTF challenges before the first question was
asked. The problem with the way that this member has conducted himself is that
he is a follower and not a leader. I also note that when we came to government,
we did not realise that the former government had done nothing to get Gold Corporation
into order. It was only with the Premier's actions on coming to
government that we started to see improvements to Gold Corporation, which I have
been happy to take further. I will just make the point that the only reason
there have been improvements at Gold Corporation is because we have taken the
bull by the horns and acted, unlike the former government. I always wonder—there
is only one former minister over there.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : How many
times was Gold Corporation discussed at cabinet? How many times were the
minutes—these are all the questions they ask me—tabled when
that member was at the cabinet table? It is funny how those issues are never
raised. It is these ridiculous questions. Let me go to the question that is
asked about the question of the insurance policies.
Guess what? I also do not know the
details of the policies held by Western Power, Synergy or Horizon Power, and
why would I? They are matters for management at the company. I represent the
shareholders. The idea that a shareholder of
Westpac knows the details of the insurance policies held by Westpac is
ridiculous. It is so ridiculous that nobody would even contemplate it.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : This is the
problem. This member does nothing, works nothing, achieves nothing and then
complains when we do work.
The SPEAKER : Members, particularly
the opposition, when you ask a very open-ended question like that, you end up
with a very open-ended answer, which probably does not assist anyone. If the
question is open-ended, I will allow an
open-ended answer. Normally, I would expect a more specific answer, but how can
you do that if a specific question is not asked?
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