❓ Mr. Hughes asks the Attorney General about actions to recover redundancy payments from individuals named in the CCC report regarding corruption within the North Metropolitan Health Service. The Attorney General outlines actions taken, including letters of demand and potential legal action, emphasising the government's commitment to recovering public funds.
AnsweredQoN 564Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORRUPTION AND CRIME COMMISSION —NORTH
METROPOLITAN HEALTH SERVICE — MISCONDUCT — REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS
564. Mr M. HUGHES to the Attorney General:
I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker's
gallery of student leaders from Lesmurdie Senior High School, accompanied by Ms
Kerry Chipchase and Ms Emma Gallagher.
Can the Attorney General outline to the house what action
this government is taking to recover any redundancy payments made to those
named in the Corruption and Crime Commission report into corruption within the
North Metropolitan Health Service; and can he outline to the house why this
government is determined to ensure that that money is paid back?
METROPOLITAN HEALTH SERVICE — MISCONDUCT — REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS
564. Mr M. HUGHES to the Attorney General:
I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker's
gallery of student leaders from Lesmurdie Senior High School, accompanied by Ms
Kerry Chipchase and Ms Emma Gallagher.
Can the Attorney General outline to the house what action
this government is taking to recover any redundancy payments made to those
named in the Corruption and Crime Commission report into corruption within the
North Metropolitan Health Service; and can he outline to the house why this
government is determined to ensure that that money is paid back?
AnswerView source ↗
I would like to thank the
member for Kalamunda for his question and I would also like, on behalf of the
member for Baldivis, to acknowledge
and welcome into the gallery this afternoon students from the South Coast
Baptist College.
In relation to the report concerning the North Metropolitan
Health Service that was handed down by the CCC, I wish to assure the house that yesterday I spoke with Western Australia
Police Force Assistant Commissioner Budge, who has assured me that
police will be getting on top of this evidence really quickly to assess
appropriate charges. Beyond that, a lot of money has been taken from the public
purse and one of the first responsibilities of any government is to be a good
steward of public funds. In this case, it has been revealed that three public
servants in the North Metropolitan Health Service—Mr Fullerton, Mr
Mulligan and Mr Ensor—between them received $642 793.20 by way of
redundancy payments. At the time they sought these redundancy payments, they
well knew themselves to be criminals. They were the people who embarked upon
the conduct and they knew themselves to be guilty of fraudulent conduct, of
corruption, and of stealing, and they knew that they did not have an
entitlement to redundancy. The only thing they were due was to be dismissed.
Accordingly, the State Solicitor has issued letters of demand
on all three people: firstly, for Mr Fullerton to repay the sum of $248 531.27,
which he received by way of redundancy payments; for Mr Mulligan to repay the
sum of $221 683.87; and for Mr Ensor to repay the sum of $172 578.06. They have
been served with a notice of demand, seeking a response to this notice of
demand by tomorrow. These moneys were fraudulently obtained because, as I said,
they knew at the time they applied for them that the only thing they were due
was dismissal, not a redundancy payment. If
there is no favourable response to these letters of demand by tomorrow, the
State Solicitor and I will work out the next stages of the legal
recovery action that will be taken on behalf of the taxpayers of Western Australia.
Might I add, there is a further sum that these people have received by way of
corrupt payments; they have not been quantified yet. We cannot quantify those
yet, but the letter of demand seeks an undertaking that they will repay moneys
improperly received.
It is really important that these people are pursued through
the legal process because we want to send out a clear message to all people who
seek to defraud the taxpayers that the government of Western Australia will
pursue you to the end. That is our firm resolve. If members ask me a question
on Thursday, I will not have a solution by Thursday, but we are going to grind
on with all resolve until we get these funds. I will not say any more at this
stage, Mr Speaker. Thank you.
member for Kalamunda for his question and I would also like, on behalf of the
member for Baldivis, to acknowledge
and welcome into the gallery this afternoon students from the South Coast
Baptist College.
In relation to the report concerning the North Metropolitan
Health Service that was handed down by the CCC, I wish to assure the house that yesterday I spoke with Western Australia
Police Force Assistant Commissioner Budge, who has assured me that
police will be getting on top of this evidence really quickly to assess
appropriate charges. Beyond that, a lot of money has been taken from the public
purse and one of the first responsibilities of any government is to be a good
steward of public funds. In this case, it has been revealed that three public
servants in the North Metropolitan Health Service—Mr Fullerton, Mr
Mulligan and Mr Ensor—between them received $642 793.20 by way of
redundancy payments. At the time they sought these redundancy payments, they
well knew themselves to be criminals. They were the people who embarked upon
the conduct and they knew themselves to be guilty of fraudulent conduct, of
corruption, and of stealing, and they knew that they did not have an
entitlement to redundancy. The only thing they were due was to be dismissed.
Accordingly, the State Solicitor has issued letters of demand
on all three people: firstly, for Mr Fullerton to repay the sum of $248 531.27,
which he received by way of redundancy payments; for Mr Mulligan to repay the
sum of $221 683.87; and for Mr Ensor to repay the sum of $172 578.06. They have
been served with a notice of demand, seeking a response to this notice of
demand by tomorrow. These moneys were fraudulently obtained because, as I said,
they knew at the time they applied for them that the only thing they were due
was dismissal, not a redundancy payment. If
there is no favourable response to these letters of demand by tomorrow, the
State Solicitor and I will work out the next stages of the legal
recovery action that will be taken on behalf of the taxpayers of Western Australia.
Might I add, there is a further sum that these people have received by way of
corrupt payments; they have not been quantified yet. We cannot quantify those
yet, but the letter of demand seeks an undertaking that they will repay moneys
improperly received.
It is really important that these people are pursued through
the legal process because we want to send out a clear message to all people who
seek to defraud the taxpayers that the government of Western Australia will
pursue you to the end. That is our firm resolve. If members ask me a question
on Thursday, I will not have a solution by Thursday, but we are going to grind
on with all resolve until we get these funds. I will not say any more at this
stage, Mr Speaker. Thank you.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.