Even though Barry Greenberry resides over 17,000 kilometres away from Tasmania he has managed to speak truth to power from a distance. He has a gag clause on his settlement with the State Government. On 10 January Barry Greenberry posted an article on Tasmanian Times less than two weeks before a state election being called by Premier Lara Giddings.
With last week’s sacking of the Corrections Minister of Tasmania Nick McKim and the State Liberals having not ruled out sacking the Secretary of Justice and holding the Public Service to account, perhaps the wider purpose of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the resignation of Mr Greenberry as Prison Director has already been successfully achieved.
There only remains a need to establish a strong Anti-Corruption Commission independent from the Justice Department to remove cronyism, nepotism and corruption and to support honest government in Tasmania.
The threat of a public inquiry through the Parliament has helped expose how Tasmania’s establishment closes ranks to defend itself from real change.
Tasmanian public servants who manipulate events to avoid a spotlight on their own ineptitude must not be allowed to prevail so easily next time. Those in Government, in the media and general public know who those public servants are.
With a weak and politicised Tasmanian Integrity Commission, Parliamentary processes still remain the only means whereby malfeasance and maladministration in the Public Sector can be investigated. Even the Parliamentary inquiry into the Greenberry resignation is not guaranteed after the State election.
The Prisons Director’s resignation and the political controversy it triggered again highlights the desperate need for honesty in Government. This was another example of political intrigue that is ruining Tasmania. Once again the truth was hidden behind a gagging order on Mr Greenberry, blocking actions by the Integrity Commission, misleading of Parliament, a Government-orchestrated media strategy and now a drawn-out Parliamentary procedure.
Tasmanians need to collectively confront our corrupted governance system.
