Ms MARTIN - 2000-06-20
I have here a letter from the staff of the NTIS regarding the sacking of Dennis Hatcher and the letter is addressed to you and I seek leave to table it.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: It says about Dennis Hatcher and I quote:
We cannot understand how such a visionary person who has been the driving force and the success of the NTIS is no longer contracted to have an involvement.
Furthermore it says: Staff concerns have been escalated because no reason for the decision has been passed on to staff.
Chief Minister, in three weeks of questioning your apprentice-of-a-minister he has failed to explain to Territorians why Dennis Hatcher was sacked. Can you do any better and give Territorians the answer they want and they deserve?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I guess if you take where this question leads to, in the interest of freedom of information, of which the Labor leader said yesterday she will introduce comprehensive freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory, can I deduce from her question that anyone on contract in the public service, whose contract is terminated, can expect the details of that contract termination to be broadcast to the media and all over the Northern Territory for anyone who wants to have a little bit of a scurry in there and find out what is there? Can I deduce that from the question? Because unless she is playing political games, there is no sense to the question in that she understands, or should understand, and if she does not understand, she should at least talk to the Commissioner for Public Employment, David Hawkes, and understand that there is a process involved for any contract public servant in terms of counselling on the renewal of their contract and the conditions that apply when a contract is terminated.
I understand that in the case of Mr Hatcher all of those procedures were followed. It is quite inappropriate, under my government, for the minister, myself, or anyone else to give details of the termination of any contract. We realise at times that people who want to meddle will be accused of something untoward because it is easy to do that. You did that in the case of a Hugh Bradley, you just throw the mud, throw the mud, throw the mud and until the opposition gets their - or in this case - the government gets their chance in court, you just have to cop it while it is being thrown.
I tell you in the case of Mr Hatcher all of the public service procedures were followed. Mr Hatcher, I understand was well aware of the procedures that were being put in place and, more importantly can I thank Dr Hatcher for his contribution to the Institute of Sport. He himself would recognise that his contribution has been part of the contribution of many others on the development of the Institute of Sport which was proudly set up by the Northern Territory government in a visionary move more than four years ago.
Fortunately, those kinds of things under my government, whether we have FOI or not in the Northern Territory, should not be the subject of media debate, but I understand clearly from the opposition’s approach that under her visionary FOI we would have that sort of information splashed all around the place for anyone to see.
This is the kind of visionary FOI you get out of the Labor Party government. This is what is happening in Victoria where the police have to get permission now from criminals in gaol for their photographs to be broadcast to law abiding citizens. This is the latest FOI move by the Bracks government in Victoria.
Territorians should understand, when the Labor Party of the Northern Territory talks about FOI, who are they trying to protect? The faces of criminals or do they want to splash the details of every contract situation all over the Northern Territory under the guise somehow of freedom of information? We will have freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory. We will have freedom of information legislation as part of a regulatory framework for the information economy. It will not only deal with personal information. It will include an electronic transactions bill and an information bill that will be supervised by an information commissioner. It will be at the forefront of legislation in Australia and that legislation I hope to introduce in this parliament towards the end of this year.
It certainly will not be the rolled out 1950s legislation that the Leader of the Opposition has already introduced into this House - 1950s Queensland legislation under the guise that somehow this is appropriate legislation for Territorians.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: It says about Dennis Hatcher and I quote:
We cannot understand how such a visionary person who has been the driving force and the success of the NTIS is no longer contracted to have an involvement.
Furthermore it says: Staff concerns have been escalated because no reason for the decision has been passed on to staff.
Chief Minister, in three weeks of questioning your apprentice-of-a-minister he has failed to explain to Territorians why Dennis Hatcher was sacked. Can you do any better and give Territorians the answer they want and they deserve?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I guess if you take where this question leads to, in the interest of freedom of information, of which the Labor leader said yesterday she will introduce comprehensive freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory, can I deduce from her question that anyone on contract in the public service, whose contract is terminated, can expect the details of that contract termination to be broadcast to the media and all over the Northern Territory for anyone who wants to have a little bit of a scurry in there and find out what is there? Can I deduce that from the question? Because unless she is playing political games, there is no sense to the question in that she understands, or should understand, and if she does not understand, she should at least talk to the Commissioner for Public Employment, David Hawkes, and understand that there is a process involved for any contract public servant in terms of counselling on the renewal of their contract and the conditions that apply when a contract is terminated.
I understand that in the case of Mr Hatcher all of those procedures were followed. It is quite inappropriate, under my government, for the minister, myself, or anyone else to give details of the termination of any contract. We realise at times that people who want to meddle will be accused of something untoward because it is easy to do that. You did that in the case of a Hugh Bradley, you just throw the mud, throw the mud, throw the mud and until the opposition gets their - or in this case - the government gets their chance in court, you just have to cop it while it is being thrown.
I tell you in the case of Mr Hatcher all of the public service procedures were followed. Mr Hatcher, I understand was well aware of the procedures that were being put in place and, more importantly can I thank Dr Hatcher for his contribution to the Institute of Sport. He himself would recognise that his contribution has been part of the contribution of many others on the development of the Institute of Sport which was proudly set up by the Northern Territory government in a visionary move more than four years ago.
Fortunately, those kinds of things under my government, whether we have FOI or not in the Northern Territory, should not be the subject of media debate, but I understand clearly from the opposition’s approach that under her visionary FOI we would have that sort of information splashed all around the place for anyone to see.
This is the kind of visionary FOI you get out of the Labor Party government. This is what is happening in Victoria where the police have to get permission now from criminals in gaol for their photographs to be broadcast to law abiding citizens. This is the latest FOI move by the Bracks government in Victoria.
Territorians should understand, when the Labor Party of the Northern Territory talks about FOI, who are they trying to protect? The faces of criminals or do they want to splash the details of every contract situation all over the Northern Territory under the guise somehow of freedom of information? We will have freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory. We will have freedom of information legislation as part of a regulatory framework for the information economy. It will not only deal with personal information. It will include an electronic transactions bill and an information bill that will be supervised by an information commissioner. It will be at the forefront of legislation in Australia and that legislation I hope to introduce in this parliament towards the end of this year.
It certainly will not be the rolled out 1950s legislation that the Leader of the Opposition has already introduced into this House - 1950s Queensland legislation under the guise that somehow this is appropriate legislation for Territorians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016