❓ Public sector—Misconduct 16. Mr Jonathan Huston to the Premier: I refer to the most recent public sector workforce report that reveals a 14% increase in substantiated incidents of misconduct in the la
AnsweredQoN 16Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Public sector—Misconduct
16. Mr Jonathan Huston to the Premier:
I refer to the most
recent public sector workforce report that reveals a 14% increase in
substantiated incidents of misconduct in the last year, including a 40%
increase in fraud, corrupt use of position and theft. How does the Premier
justify a 40% increase in fraud, corrupt use of position and theft, and what is
he doing to root out corruption and theft in his public sector?
16. Mr Jonathan Huston to the Premier:
I refer to the most
recent public sector workforce report that reveals a 14% increase in
substantiated incidents of misconduct in the last year, including a 40%
increase in fraud, corrupt use of position and theft. How does the Premier
justify a 40% increase in fraud, corrupt use of position and theft, and what is
he doing to root out corruption and theft in his public sector?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question. Since we came to power, the Western Australian population has
grown by 20%. A fifth more people are in Western Australia today. That means we
need more doctors, nurses, public servants and teachers. It means we have a
bigger public sector to ensure that people get the infrastructure and services
they need. What has also happened is that we now have a very well drilled and
trained public sector protocol or ethics culture, which ensures that when
people see corruption or activity that may be corrupt, they feel confident
enough to report it. While I do not dispute the figures that the member talks
about, I dispute the characterisation of it that somehow there has been
fraudulent or corrupt activity that has sprouted out across the public sector
in recent times. In some respects, this is actually a response to public
servants having the confidence to call out behaviour that they think is
unethical or inappropriate. From that perspective, I think we need to be very
careful about the way we interpret these statistics.
for the question. Since we came to power, the Western Australian population has
grown by 20%. A fifth more people are in Western Australia today. That means we
need more doctors, nurses, public servants and teachers. It means we have a
bigger public sector to ensure that people get the infrastructure and services
they need. What has also happened is that we now have a very well drilled and
trained public sector protocol or ethics culture, which ensures that when
people see corruption or activity that may be corrupt, they feel confident
enough to report it. While I do not dispute the figures that the member talks
about, I dispute the characterisation of it that somehow there has been
fraudulent or corrupt activity that has sprouted out across the public sector
in recent times. In some respects, this is actually a response to public
servants having the confidence to call out behaviour that they think is
unethical or inappropriate. From that perspective, I think we need to be very
careful about the way we interpret these statistics.
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