Thursday, 17 August 2023

Government appointment process

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Premier. The government has recently appointed former minister Martin Foley as the chair of Alfred Health and chair of Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation. These part-time appointments come with a combined salary of up to $263,000. Who was on the selection panel and what process did they follow for these appointments?

Steve Dimopoulos: Best person for the job.

Daniel ANDREWS (Mulgrave – Premier) (14:20): As my honourable friend the minister for sport, tourism, major events and creative industries says, best person for the job – absolutely. These appointments are made on merit. It is very –

John Pesutto: Why is he a minister?

Daniel ANDREWS: Well, the person you referred to was the Minister for Creative Industries – and an outstanding Minister for Creative Industries. He has seen the inside of the cabinet room, mate. He knows how to be a minister, unlike some others.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Sorry will not cut it. You will be removed from the chamber.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier knows to refer to people by their proper titles.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to refer to members by their proper titles.

Daniel ANDREWS: But you referred to the Leader of the Opposition, who has never been a minister, so there you go. Is that a proper enough title for you? At the end of the day, appointments are made on merit. Martin Foley is an outstanding former minister and member of this place –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, the question was very simple: who was on the selection panel, and what process did they follow?

The SPEAKER: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question.

Daniel ANDREWS: Well, this is a cabinet appointment.

John Pesutto: Oh, so there was none? It’s for mates.

Daniel ANDREWS: Again you are showing –

Members interjecting.

Daniel ANDREWS: Well, the cabinet kind of is a selection panel, mate. There is a group of people who have got a commission from the Governor and they make decisions on appointments. It normally happens at the end of the cabinet meeting every week. I am indebted to the Leader of the Opposition for drawing my attention to processes and cabinet, because just prior to question time, Leader of the Opposition, who has never so much as seen the inside of the cabinet room, I had my cabinet pre-brief. I have a number of these ahead of Monday’s meeting, and while I cannot divulge what is happening at cabinet, one of your former colleagues is set to be appointed to a board on Monday. Yes. He, however, has seen the inside of a cabinet room, because he was a minister in that four years of Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine. It is rather a sticky position, this, because you know what, they all see me walk down the street, and they cross Collins Street, these former Liberals – ‘Could you get me a job? Could you put me on a board?’ It seems they do not bother telling the Leader of the Opposition that they are petitioning the government to put them on things. And they will be appointments made on merit, just as Martin Foley’s is an outstanding appointment on merit. We will wait and see how many other people were appointed on merit and will remain being appointed on merit as the year unfolds.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier has divulged to the house that cabinet has made a decision and that it has formalised an appointment. I ask now that the Premier make that available to the house.

Members interjecting.

John Pesutto: You stepped into the doorway, my friend. You stepped into it. Make the documents available –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: This is very disappointing behaviour in the chamber today. Leader of the Opposition, if you have concerns about the Premier’s response to your question or further requests for information, I would ask you to do it outside of question time. On a supplementary question?

John Pesutto: Speaker, if I may just address your last point, given what the Premier said about the cabinet processes, I will be seeking more information about the cabinet decision the Premier has volunteered today.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, Leader of the Opposition. On your supplementary question?

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): The Victorian Ombudsman is presently undertaking an ongoing investigation into the politicisation of the public service. Will the Premier cooperate with the Ombudsman’s investigation in relation to each of the political allies that his government has appointed to paid positions on Victorian government boards?

Daniel ANDREWS (Mulgrave – Premier) (14:25): Every member of this place ought cooperate with any investigation or piece of work or inquiry that any integrity agency makes. That is a broad statement of policy, and it applies to everybody. As far as having kind of divulged something in my substantive answer, these are executive council appointments. Like, do you want me to send you a copy of the Government Gazette? It is there; there are formal processes.

Members interjecting.

Daniel ANDREWS: Seriously, ‘lost’ doesn’t cover you – you are absolutely at sea. You have no idea what you are doing, and your colleagues know it.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I ask the Leader of the Opposition and the Premier to cease yelling at each other across the table.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was an important question. It is not an opportunity for the Premier to be obnoxious.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I would like to rule on the point of order. I ask the Manager of Opposition Business to be more succinct in his points of order. And if it is about relevance, it is only about relevance; it is not about name-calling.

A member interjected.

Daniel ANDREWS: Indeed. Apparently women are nasty and men are obnoxious – that is the view from Brighton apparently. That is the view from the member for Brighton.

The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question that has been answered. These appointments are made on merit. And as far as the Ombudsman or any other integrity agency goes, everyone, including the Leader of the Opposition, should cooperate – (Time expired)