Mrs BRAHAM - 2007-10-10
In 2005, in answer to my question about career opportunities for senior public servants in Alice Springs, you acknowledged the need to have better capacity to make key decisions and to upgrade some of the senior positions in Alice Springs. You mentioned some that had been upgraded to the ECO positions in Tourism and DEET. Will you give a guarantee that no current positions in Alice Springs will be downgraded below the ECO level? You may be aware that I am referring to a particular position in Police, Fire and Emergency Services that I believe is likely to be downgraded. Can you give us a guarantee that in Alice Springs, we will not have downgrading of positions when people like John Baskerville and Peter McDonald leave their senior positions?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can understand why the member for Braitling is asking that question. However, in terms of running government and individual agencies, it would be inappropriately prescriptive for me to stand here and say: ‘No position will ever be changed in Alice Springs’. Are you saying we should not make them higher positions on the ECO level? Maybe you are saying that as well.
Every minister accounts, in turnover on a weekly basis, for what kind of regional delegation their departments have across the Territory. It is a very key issue for this government that we are being able to have decision-making appropriately made whether that is in Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek or Alice Springs. Certainly, with local government, we will see better decision-making right across the Territory with our new shire arrangements, which is very important.
The appropriateness of decision-making in Alice Springs is at the core of this government. I am not going to say that no position will ever change. That is a ridiculous thing to say on behalf of government. However, what we want is effective decision-making being made, particularly in an area like Alice Springs. Too often in Alice Springs, decisions are referred to Darwin. It slows them down dreadfully. I have been working with the most senior people in agencies in Alice Springs when I meet with them on a two monthly basis to say we have to have this decision-making here, and to let me know if decisions are going inappropriately to Darwin and how we can deal with them locally.
It is an issue we are very conscious of, but I am not going to give you that kind of assurance that no agency, or no section of an agency will ever want to restructure its positions. Of course that is going to happen.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can understand why the member for Braitling is asking that question. However, in terms of running government and individual agencies, it would be inappropriately prescriptive for me to stand here and say: ‘No position will ever be changed in Alice Springs’. Are you saying we should not make them higher positions on the ECO level? Maybe you are saying that as well.
Every minister accounts, in turnover on a weekly basis, for what kind of regional delegation their departments have across the Territory. It is a very key issue for this government that we are being able to have decision-making appropriately made whether that is in Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek or Alice Springs. Certainly, with local government, we will see better decision-making right across the Territory with our new shire arrangements, which is very important.
The appropriateness of decision-making in Alice Springs is at the core of this government. I am not going to say that no position will ever change. That is a ridiculous thing to say on behalf of government. However, what we want is effective decision-making being made, particularly in an area like Alice Springs. Too often in Alice Springs, decisions are referred to Darwin. It slows them down dreadfully. I have been working with the most senior people in agencies in Alice Springs when I meet with them on a two monthly basis to say we have to have this decision-making here, and to let me know if decisions are going inappropriately to Darwin and how we can deal with them locally.
It is an issue we are very conscious of, but I am not going to give you that kind of assurance that no agency, or no section of an agency will ever want to restructure its positions. Of course that is going to happen.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016