JOANNA
What has already happened in government is unbelievable, but this – I am nearly lost for words. As a further example of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, this ad for a job in DEPHA was in the government gazette, 9 days after DEPHA was declared extinct. How can a government function, with so much incompetence? This is not just further waste of money, this is an example of a serious malfunction. But we have plenty of other examples of that, they keep coming thick and fast. Now Bartlett admits he lied to parliament. Surely that puts him on the same low level as Mr Kons?
What it means …
“What Mr Bartlett finally confirmed, albeit almost by mistake, is that Cabinet had discussed the potential abolition of DEPHA before the 11th of May meeting, presumably at the 4th of May Cabinet meeting but maybe even earlier, which is very significant given that the Premier signed the Scott Gadd contract on the 5th of May,” Mr McKim said. “What we now know is that prior to the contract being finalised, Mr Bartlett and the entire Cabinet had discussed abolishing DEPHA, and therefore the whole of government knew this was underway before David Bartlett signed off on the three year contract.”
The Tasmanian Greens said that Premier David Bartlett’s accidental confirmation today that Cabinet had discussed the abolition of the Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts (DEPHA) prior to the 11th of May meeting, which means that the Scott Gadd contract was signed in the full knowledge that the Department was going to be abolished.
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said that this admission is a very serious matter, and leaves the Premier wide open over why he has exposed the taxpayer to serious financial liability by signing off on a three year contract instead of a short transitional one.
“What Mr Bartlett finally confirmed, albeit almost by mistake, is that Cabinet had discussed the potential abolition of DEPHA before the 11th of May meeting, presumably at the 4th of May Cabinet meeting but maybe even earlier, which is very significant given that the Premier signed the Scott Gadd contract on the 5th of May,” Mr McKim said.
“What we now know is that prior to the contract being finalised, Mr Bartlett and the entire Cabinet had discussed abolishing DEPHA, and therefore the whole of government knew this was underway before David Bartlett signed off on the three year contract.”
“This leaves Mr Bartlett wide open. Why did he sign off on a three year contract exposing the taxpayer to serious liability in the full knowledge that the department was to be abolished instead of renegotiating a transitional three or four month one?”
“The Solicitor-General’s advice makes it perfectly clear that the contract could have been renegotiated, and in fact it was renegotiated from being a five year contract to three years, but the significant economic liability that the Premier has signed up the Tasmanian taxpayer to, could have been avoided.”
“This was a whole of government decision made, without consulting a single member of that Department, and made before Mr Gadd’s contract was finalised.”
“This is incompetence, inexperience, or featherbedding, or all three.”
