13 October 1998 Legislative Assembly Tuesday, 13 October 1998
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD) THIRTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT SECOND SESSION 1998 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday, 13 October 1998 Legislative Assembly Tuesday, 13 October 1998 THE SPEAKER (Mr Strickland) took the Chair at 2.00 pm, and read prayers. TELEVISING AND BROADCASTING PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS Statement by Speaker THE SPEAKER (Mr Strickland): I advise members that as a result of a request from the media, and in anticipation of brief ministerial statements by the Premier on the Main Roads WA investigation and on WorkSafe WA, I have given permission for these live proceedings to be released to both television and radio media outlets. PUBLIC ACCESS WAY, CITY OF JOONDALUP Petition Mr Baker presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 53 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned residents of Crawley Grove and Fairlawn Gardens, Heathridge, in the State of Western Australia, call upon the State Government to liaise with the City of Joondalup with a view to closing the public access way adjacent to our respective places of residence due to: 1. The vulgar, disorderly, disruptive and generally anti-social behaviour exhibited by many users of the said public access way, particularly during the early hours of the morning; 2. The need to negative, limit or exclude criminal activities in our suburb by persons using the said access way; and 3. The need to restore our peace of mind, security and quality of life. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 55.] SUBURBAN BANK BRANCH SERVICES Petition Mr Kobelke presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 105 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned believe that it is unacceptable for our banks to desert their responsibilities to provide basic across the counter services through an easily accessible network of suburban branches. Banks in neglecting their social obligation are making it much more difficult for elderly members of our community to remain independent and they are left more vulnerable to being the victims of attack when they have to use automatic teller machines. We call on Governments at both State and Federal level to require our banks to provide secure and easily accessible banking facilities for all members of the community, particularly the elderly and those who have to rely on public transport. And your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 56.] PADDINGTON AVENUE, CURRAMBINE Petition Mr Baker presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 160 persons - [Tuesday, 13 October 1998] 1805 To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned residents of the City of Joondalup, call upon the WA Government to fast track the completion of the extension of Paddington Avenue through to Ambassador Drive, Currambine. This will have the effect of greatly reducing vehicular congestion at and in the vicinity of the Currambine Primary School and substantially improve the safety of parents and children accessing the said school, and local residents. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 57.] WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND REHABILITATION ACT Petition Mr Kobelke presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 17 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned express out total opposition to the move by the Court Government to deny injured workers the right to make claims for common law damages for negligence through the "second gateway" in section 93D of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act. To abolish "second gateway" claims would: 1. deny many seriously injured workers the legal right to seek recompense through the common law, when they have suffered a loss due to negligence of their employer, 2. remove an incentive for employers to improve health and safety in the workplace and thus lead to more accidents and injuries to Western Australian workers and 3. deny injured workers fair compensation for their loss and suffering so that insurance companies can make bigger profits. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 58.] PUBLIC HOSPITAL WAITING LIST Petition Mr McGowan presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 355 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We the undersigned, respectfully request that the Government acts to rectify the current situation of long waiting lists in the public health system by directing more funding into the public health and hospitals services. We also request that the Government halts any further downgrading of those services so that the community gets the health care that we deserve. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 59.] CRIMINAL LAW AMENDMENT BILL (No 1) Assent Message from the Governor received and read notifying assent to the Bill. 1806 [ASSEMBLY] MAIN ROADS WA INVESTIGATION Statement by Premier MR COURT (Nedlands - Premier) [2.15 pm]: The review of the Main Roads WA investigation into the alleged unauthorised release of an internal memorandum to parties external to that organisation has now been completed. I table the review report. [See paper No 238.] Mr COURT: The review was conducted by the public sector management division of the Ministry of the Premier and Cabinet. An officer of the State Supply Commission assisted the reviewer in procuring matters examined during the review. The review essentially examined all issues, including costs, associated with three broad matters - the initial investigation undertaken by the external investigation firm International Investigation Agency; the procurement matters arising from the engagement and management of the IIA contract; and the internal disciplinary investigation conducted by an officer of Main Roads that arose from the initial investigation. In summary the main findings have concluded that - the Commissioner of Main Roads had the authority to decide that an investigation into the alleged leaking of a sensitive internal report was warranted, and to engage an external investigation firm to conduct the investigation; although initially the processes used to engage the investigation firm were reasonable, there were a number of deficiencies in the contracting process and the ongoing contract management was flawed; the principles and processes applied during the IIA investigation were not consistent with public sector requirements; the investigation process, and the associated costs, cannot be justified on the basis of the alleged leak alone. Justification arises only when regard is given to the wider issue of commercial confidentiality for Main Roads. The Minister for Transport and I have met with Mr Drabble to discuss the report. The commissioner has assured me, and I agree, that disclosure of confidential information should always be dealt with in the most appropriate manner. Notwithstanding that the commissioner was justified in taking action in relation to this matter, I believe that the report points to some significant management deficiencies within Main Roads and, as the employer of the commissioner, I have now raised these issues with him. My concerns in this case are that internal systems were not followed, resulting in a protracted, costly exercise. The commissioner has now developed the following strategies to address the issues arising from the review - (1) The provision of contract-project management training will be continued within Main Roads. (2) To ensure conformity with supply processes and to gauge the effectiveness of the contract management training, all sections of Main Roads will be audited annually under the organisation's quality management system. The initial audit will be completed within the next three months and subsequent audits at 12- monthly intervals. (3) To ensure compliance with State Supply Commission accreditation, Main Roads will review its supply activities. The next assessment is to be made by the end of 1998. (4) All cumulative contract payments exceeding $10 000 to be reviewed by a senior Supply officer for conformity to supply processes before release. (5) All contracts exceeding $50 000 to be endorsed by either the manager supply or executive director corporate services before being recommended for award. These strategies will be included in Mr Drabble's 1998-99 performance agreement to ensure they are implemented. I have also referred the report to the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards and the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the State Supply Commission for action they consider necessary. The outcome