Public Sector Appointments

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:32): Following the Premier's answer, where he suggests that they are advertising for the replacements of the chief executives Mr Hook and Mr Hansen to get 'the best possible candidate', as the Premier said in his answer just given to the house, how can you guarantee, Premier, that you are going to get the best possible candidate for the position of public sector employment commissioner if you don't conduct an advertising campaign to seek the best possible candidate?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:33): One only needs to give a moment's thought to the circumstances I outlined to actually realise that, when you have somebody who is an existing incumbent in a central element of a role that you are seeking to amalgamate then, first, you would want to give consideration to whether, if you did advertise, you might drive such a candidate away. That might be the first thing that you might want to consider. Secondly, if you were satisfied with the quality of the work—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Another factor that you may wish to take into account is the question of continuity. Ms Erma Ranieri is presently supervising the public sector renewal program. It is proving to be a very significant, successful program, and continuity is a relevant issue to take into account in that regard, but each of these cases needs to be considered on its own merits. Sometimes, we will not go to a public advertisement for a position.

It may well be that we have identified somebody who meets all of the requirements of government from within the service. Other times, as in the case of the commissioner for public employment and the public sector renewal body being amalgamated, there will be an existing incumbent and that will obviously be a factor that will bear on our minds. Each of these cases need to be considered on its own merits.