28 Nov 2002 Legislative Assembly 4969 THURSDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2002 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe) read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m. PRIVILEGE Chief Magistrate, Ms D. Fingleton Hon. R. J. WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (9.30 a.m.): I rise on a matter of privilege. Within the last 24 hours the opposition justice spokesman has called publicly for the suspension or removal of the Chief Magistrate. Yesterday in the Supreme Court two decisions were handed down in relation to certain decisions of the Chief Magistrate in regard to her management of magistrates within the Magistrates Court. Those decisions are decisions arising out of applications for judicial review of the administrative validity of the decisions of the Chief Magistrate. The Chief Magistrate has an important function to perform and has the responsibility of managing the operation of the court right across the state of Queensland. That is a major responsibility, a responsibility that necessarily requires powers to ensure that the court runs effectively and efficiently. Those powers are specifically spelt out in the Magistrates Courts Act. The decisions yesterday, while they do require further study by me and I will take appropriate legal advice in relation to them, of themselves do not necessarily raise questions that justify an application by the Attorney-General to the Supreme Court for the suspension or removal of a magistrate. As has been indicated, section 15 of the Magistrates Courts Act provides— There is proper cause to remove the Magistrate if the Magistrate— (a) has been convicted of an indictable offence; or (b) is mentally or physically incapable of carrying out satisfactorily the duties of office; or (c) is incompetent or guilty of serious negligence of duties; or (d) is guilty of proved misbehaviour. Prima facie the decisions in the Supreme Court yesterday do not of themselves establish any of those grounds upon which an application could or should be made. In the circumstances, my matter of privilege is this: the call by any member of parliament for the removal of a judicial officer, especially while there is a pending CMC inquiry and investigation into other more serious allegations, is grossly premature and, on one view, a serious incursion upon the independence of the judiciary. The principle of the independence of the judiciary entails that one should not make comment which interferes with the conduct of judicial proceedings or in any way interferes with the independence of the office of a judicial office holder. There is a lack of clarity, I concede, about the extent or the ambit of that concept of judicial independence, but one thing is clear: while there are pending proceedings and inquiries before the Crime and Misconduct Commission it is my view that to call for the removal of any judicial officer is an improper breach of the concept of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. I call upon all members of the House to respect that responsibility. PRIVILEGE Minister for Police and Corrective Services Mr SEENEY (Callide—NPA) (9.34 a.m.): I rise on a matter of privilege. Yesterday the Minister for Police and Corrective Services, Mr Tony McGrady, responded to a question without notice that I asked in this House regarding his government's commitment to dealing with the issue of drugs and, in so doing, misled parliament on two counts. Mr McGrady stated— We do not have people who are specifically in drug squads. The Queensland Police Service annual report on pages 37, 38 and 40 provides that the Police Service is able to respond to the issue of drugs through the illicit laboratory investigation team, the state drug investigation squad, the northern and far-northern drug investigation squads and two new Dog Squad teams. The minister further misled parliament in answer to this question without notice when, referring to the current levels of crime, he stated— If only this gentleman— 4970 Ministerial Statement 28 Nov 2002 referring to me— opposite would read the true statistics which were presented in this parliament recently! In those statistics we saw that the numbers of major crimes came down. Crimes against the person and crimes against property all came tumbling down. Page 9 of the Queensland Police Service Annual statistical review which the minister tabled in this House provides that the number of offences against the person increased by three per cent in Queensland from 2001-02. Further, on page 2 of the same report the table displaying the reported offences against the person in Queensland also provided that the number of offences has increased by three per cent from the previous year. The statements outlined clearly indicate that the minister has misled the parliament deliberately on two counts. Accordingly, Mr Speaker, I ask that you refer the minister to the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee. PAPERS MINISTERIAL PAPER TABLED BY THE ACTING CLERK The Acting Clerk tabled the following ministerial paper— Premier and Minister for Trade (Mr Beattie)— Letter, dated 26 November 2002, from the Premier and Minister for Trade (Mr Beattie) to the Acting Clerk of the Parliament referring to correspondence received by the Premier from the Commonwealth Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties regarding a proposed international treaty action tabled in both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament on 12 November 2002 including a National Interest Analysis for the proposed treaty action listed in the letter. MINISTERIAL PAPERS The following papers were tabled— Minister for Health and Minister Assisting the Premier on Women’s Policy (Mrs Edmond)— Royal Childrens Hospital Foundation – Annual Report 2001-2002, together with a late tabling statement Minister for Employment, Training and Youth and Minister for the Arts (Mr Foley)— Dalby Agricultural College Board – Annual Report 2001-2002 Copy of correspondence, dated 18 November 2002, from Mr Foley to Mr Nev Wirth, Chairperson, Dalby Agricultural College relating to the audit certification on the 2001-02 Financial Statements MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.36 a.m.): My government is listening to the needs of our communities, identifying issues and coming up with solutions to them. I often talk about leadership, and indeed my government provides leadership. I also talk about a vision in relation to the need for innovation in this state. But no government can translate its vision into reality without an effective Public Service. That certainly is the case with my government. We have clearly defined goals for the Smart State—that is, more jobs for Queensland, safer and more supportive communities, community engagement and a better quality of life, valuing the environment, building Queensland's regions and developing the Smart State. There is innovation in all of the principles we have been pursuing. The fact that we have a first-class Public Service has been clearly demonstrated by the calibre of entries in the 2002 Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management. Last night, along with a number of ministers, including the Minister for Health and the Minister for State Development, and parliamentary secretaries, I had the pleasure of presenting the awards to the winners. I was impressed by the innovation and teamwork which is making things happen across Queensland. The public sector is working hard to achieve our Smart State objectives and to improve our already high standard of living. All the winning entries had a real focus on community issues. The strong support shown by the award's sponsors from the private and public sectors highlights the willingness of government and the corporate community to work together to achieve excellence. The awards this year show that we are finding better ways of working together to address community needs and problems, and that is what I call working smarter. This year we received a record 144 entries from right across government. There have been some outstanding public sector achievements over the year, and I thank all our agencies and 28 Nov 2002 Ministerial Statement 4971 congratulate them on their hard work and commitment. They have worked constructively with my government to make Queensland a dynamic, tolerant and mature community as well as working towards the finalisation of the Smart State strategy. I want to congratulate all our finalists and mention the winners. The winners of the 2002 Premier's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management are as follows. The category of Innovation and Creativity was won by SmartLicence online; Strengthening Rural and Regional Queensland was won by the Cape York Peninsula community forestry development portfolio; Leadership Excellence was jointly shared by the Mount Isa district alcohol related violence initiatives and the Callide power project; Community Engagement was won by ministerial regional community forums; Sustainable Environment was won by the Kelvin Grove Urban Village; Growing Queensland's Economy was won by school based apprenticeships and traineeships; Bridges to Reconciliation was won by the Working for Reconciliation plan; and Focusing on Our People was won by Access Education's Youth Program. I table for the information of the House the program and the details of the successful winners. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Food Spectrum Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.39 a.m.): I wish to talk about Food Spectrum. The business community is embracing our Smart State vision for Queensland. I see that in every one of the interest groups I address. Indeed, Stephen Robertson and I today are talking to the Mining Council. I know that the mining industry is responding to our Smart State strategy. We see that with AMC, with which Tom Barton and I met this week regarding progress of its project in central Queensland.