Month: January 1995

The Merit Protection Review Agency inquiry into harassment at the Australian War Memorial was ordered by the Minister for Public Service Matter, Gary Johns, without the input or possibly the knowledge of the portfolio Minister, Con Sciacca, according to documents obtained by The Canberra Times.

Mr Johns’s office acknowledged yesterday that Mr Sciacca had no input into the terms of reference, but said he had been informed of it.

Information received by The Canberra Times shows also that the Ministers were sent during the inquiry’s life Federal Attorney-General’s Department and other legal advice that the inquiry was flawed, but no action was taken on the advice. Since the inquiry into alleged workplace harassment was launched (it was never formally announced to the public) in August last year, up to eight staff have been off on stress leave at any one time, key and talented staff have sought jobs elsewhere. A Federal Court challenge to the MPRA’s unpublished findings is now under way by the former director Brendon Kelson and the present deputy director Dr Michael McKernan. Documents obtained by The Canberra Times reveal that the Minister for Veteran’s Affairs, Con Sciacca, had been provided with legal advice from the Attorney-General’s Department that the procedure and jurisdiction of the MPRA was defective and he had been urged to ask Mr Johns to stop the inquiry. Other sources say other legal advice to similar effect had been sent to Mr John’s office. Mr Johns’s office said yesterday that no legal advice impugning the jurisdiction or procedural correctness of the inquiry had been received. Mr Johns’s office said Sciacca had been aware of the inquiry, but had had no input into its terms of reference. Other material shows that the Public Service Commissioner, Dennis Ives, had expressed concern and doubt about the MPRA’s definition of workplace harassment as being too wide and beyond the defined public-service offence. However, the MPRA says it undertook its inquiry fairly, within jurisdiction, using the proper definition of workplace harassment. That is not the view of Mr Kelson and Dr McKernan. They assert the MPRA acted outside its jurisdiction, did not adopt procedural fairness, engaged in trawling for allegations and encouraged allegations to be brought, that it put allegations in a generalised way and did not confine itself to the definition of harassment in the public-service guidelines, among other things.
Continue reading “1995_01_january_warnews”

The Australian War Memorial has gone through a period of major disruption over the four-month inquiry by the Merit Protection and Review Agency in what is seen by some as a dangerous precedent in the Australian Public Service. It has also revealed one Federal Minister being taken totally by surprise by the actions of another that affected in his portfolio area _ similar in nature if not seriousness as the woodchip fiasco.

Information received by The Canberra Times shows also that the Ministers were sent quite early in the inquiry’s life Federal Attorney-General’s Department advice that the inquiry was flawed, but no action was taken on the advice. Since the inquiry into alleged workplace harassment was launched (it was never formally announced to the public) in August last year, up to eight staff have been off on stress leave at any one time, key and talented staff have sought jobs elsewhere and staff have been frequently distracted by gossip, hearings and generally taken up with inquiry matters rather than memorial work. A Federal Court challenge to the MPRA’s unpublished findings is now under way by the former director Brendon Kelson and the present deputy director Dr Michael McKernan. Documents obtained by The Canberra Times reveal that the Minister for Veteran’s Affairs, Con Sciacca, had been provided with legal advice from officers of the Attorney-General’s Department expressing the opinion that the procedure and jurisdiction of the MPRA was defective and he had been urged to ask the Minister responsible for Public Service Matter, Gary Johns, to stop the inquiry. Other sources say other legal advice to similar effect had been sent to John’s office. Johns’s office said yesterday that no legal advice impugning the jurisdiction or procedural correctness of the inquiry had been received.
Continue reading “1995_01_january_warmem”

Early next week the ACT Electoral Commission will make a very large contribution to the amount of paper that goes into our big bin with the yellow lid. As required by law, it is dropping in every letter box a 28-page, A4 size, explanation of the referendum we are all to vote in on February 18. It contains also a Yes case agreed upon by the Labor, Liberal and two Independents and a No case written by Abolish Self-Government MLA Dennis Stevenson. As voters flick through it on the way from letter box to bin, they will be left with a clear typographical impression they should vote No. Whereas the Yes is very poorly presented.

More of that anon. The referendum is to entrench the electoral system that about 65 per cent of the people approved in the advisory referendum in 1992, plus a few incidentals. It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the people will vote in that proportion again. It is unlikely, but it would not surprise me if the referendum were not passed. This is due to several factors: A quirk in the Federal self-government legislation which in practice requires that about 60 per cent of formal voters have to say Yes before the referendum is carried. A different make-up of the electorate. Ignorance and apathy, (not to be confused with stupidity, which most voters are not). And the nature of the Yes and No case going out to voters next week. Let’s take these one by one. Most legislation or constitutions providing for referendums have words like “”a majority of all electors voting” as the test for whether the referendum passes. The test therefore is 50 per cent plus one of the people who turn up and vote formally. In the ACT, however, it is different. The people who drafted the Self-Government Act messed it up. The provision uses the words: “”If a majority of electors approve”.
Continue reading “1995_01_january_referen”

The ACT Government’s light-rail proposal would cost each household in the ACT $1250 over the next three years and fewer than 10 per cent of the population would use it, according to the ACT Opposition. Opposition Leader, Kate Carnell, said yesterday that Labor wanted to spend $120 million of taxpayers’ funds over the next three years to get the first stage of the project running. There would be a minimum 10 per cent extra in parking fees and fines and parking charges would be applied in Tuggeranong and Belconnen Town centres.

The Opposition would not support the light rail proposal because it was economically irresponsible and with a capital cost of $509 million could cripple the ACT economy because the bulk of it would have to be borrowed. The Minister for Urban Services, David Lamont, was talking quite seriously about spending the equivalent of what it would cost to build two new major hospitals. “”All this from a Government which allows our existing bus network to continue to run at a loss of more than $1 million a week,” she said. Last month the Government issued “”Public Transport Options Study _ Stage 3. Canberra Light Rail Implementation Study” by Booz-Allen and Hamilton. It said light rail was feasible for Canberra.
Continue reading “1995_01_january_railkate”

Liberal legal affairs spokesman called upon the ACT Government yesterday to investigate claims made in The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday alleging US organised crime involvement in the Act adult video industry. The ACT Attorney-General, Terry Connolly, said the Australian Federal Police and National Crime Authority had on-going investigations into organised crime links with adult videos. The ACT and Northern Territory had opted for a legal X-rated (non-violent erotica) video industry because it was harder for it to be infiltrated by organised crime. It also made it less likely for child pornography and unclassified violent pornography to flourish because the legal outlets were open to scrutiny and had a vested interest in staying within the law.

Elsewhere the underground industry made both X-rated and violent pornography available indiscriminately because both were illegal _ they thought they may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. “”You could find hard-core violent pornography videos within an hour in Sydney or Melbourne; I doubt you could find it here,” he said. Mr Humphries called for a review of probity procedures used in determining the granting of a licence for the operation of an adult video store. Probity checks by the Labor Government had been shown to be defective with Vitab.
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Keys points in environment log of claims: Population and growth study. Ban battery hens, laboratory experiments on animals. Fee for plastic bags at shops. No SES cars.

Stop parks watering with drinking water; use storm and lake water. Native plantings in public places. Stronger enforcement of waste, weeds and other environment laws. Remove public financial incentive for urban renewal. Stronger leasehold and multi-centred planning. Public nomination for government appointments. Replace “”growth” with “”sustainability” as driving force for industry and government policies.

The fate of three major planning hot spots in old Canberra will not be known before the election. The delay in one of the them, Old Red Hill, is affecting the marketing of the home of the Member for Canberra, Ros Kelly. Opposition Planning spokesman Greg Cornwell called last week for the ACT Government to announce its decisions on medium density proposals in Hunter Street, Yarralumla, and Lefroy Street, Griffith, before the election.

A further dispute over proposals for seven units in Wickham Crescent, Red Hill, is also unlikely to be resolved before the election. The Old Red Hill Preservation Society has called on all parties to clarify their position on redevelopment in the area before the election. Mr Cornwell also called on the Government to clarify what he called “”post-Landsdown confusion”. Planning Minister Bill Wood said it was not for him to make a political decision about the medium density proposals. They were in the middle of administrative processes. In Lefroy Street the ACT Planning Authority had refused the design and sitting application and the developer had appealed. The lease variation, however, had been approved and the third party residents had appealed. The result of the appeals is not yet decided. In Hunter Street the lease variation had been approved with conditions against which the developer had appealed and residents had appealed the variation. Mr Cornwell said people did not know whether to ground their appeals on the rules existing before the November 21 Landsdown report or on the new rules. He said the position on “”Cape Cod” extensions was unclear.
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Last night they came from “”the community sector”. The regular ACT Council of Social Service question the candidates night was held at Olim’s Ainslie Hotel and the words “”community sector” were articulated by ACTCOSS representatives and candidates alike. Now the “”community sector” is different from the community. The community is “”consulted” on every issue; the “”community sector” is consulted on only some issues _ because “”the community sector” is only part of the community. And last night the candidates opened themselves to questioning by this new-found euphemistic oxymoron. Indeed, last night “”the community sector” was broken down into other “”sectors”. We heard of the “”child-care sector”, the “”disabled sector” and so on. In all there were about 60 representatives of a dozen or so community-sector sectors. It was a different form of questioning than what has been seen in the past quarter century _ since television took over election campaigns and the public meeting became defunct.

ACTCOSS’s Ian De Landelles, who chaired the meeting, sagely pointed out, “”That’s the trouble with public meetings you never know what question you will get.” _ unlike a press conference full of journalists. For example, Trevor Kaine was not asked, “”Do you still hanker after the leadership like every thrown Liberal leader?” No; these questions were mundane and arcane. They were about “”12A long day-care centres”; tied Commonwealth grants for disabled people and the Griffin Centre.
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The ACT Government said yesterday it would consider changing licensing laws in the suburbs after unruly behaviour in Manuka on New Year’s Eve.The Attorney-General, Terry Connolly, said that he was not surprised that behaviour was unruly in Manuka while crowds in Civic were well-behaved.

He said he would refer the Manuka situation to the Community Safety Committee headed by Ken Begg.

The committee’s work and its report Civic By Night had helped reduce problems in Civic with co-operation of licensees who had tightened up on underage drinking and serving intoxicated people. Extra police presence and late-night public transport had also helped.
Continue reading “1995_01_january_newyear”

The ACT wants its Aboriginal centre to be collocated with the Federal Government’s Gallery of Aboriginal Australia on Acton Peninsula. The Act Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, has written to the Prime Minister, seeking the collocation. Ms Follett said yesterday, “”The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council has indicated to me that it prefers a site on Acton Peninsula.” The $2.5 million ACT centre is to be funded from the $19 million tax raised from the Casino licence. The federal gallery _ part of the National Museum of Australia _ was announced in Mr Keating’s cultural statement last year.

At the time the ACT Government reacted favourably. Others saw it as the death knell to the museum’s preferred option of a full museum at Yarramundi Reach. This week ACT Opposition Leader Kate Carnell repeated a call for the Federal Government to go ahead with the full Museum at Yarramundi. The director of the museum, Margaret Coaldrake, is on leave, but the ACT Government has kept the museum informed.