Question Time

MINISTERIAL STAFF

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:20): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Minister for Industrial Relations on the subject of Mr Jimmy Watson.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: On 1 March this year I asked a question of the minister in relation to the appointment of prominent union boss Mr Jimmy Watson to a position within his ministerial office. One of the questions was: 'What was the remuneration package?' Mr Wortley said:

I am quite happy to give you the answer. I am not quite sure of the salaries of these people. It is probably up in the $90,000-odd, I imagine...I will bring it back, but these aren't hard to find.

Just over a month later, when Mr Wortley had not brought the answer back, I asked a subsequent question on 3 April about the pay for Mr Watson. The minister then launched an attack, saying:

The wages of Jimmy Watson will be gazetted, as is the case with many others...They will all be gazetted some time this year. It will well and truly be transparent. No-one is going to keep anything a secret. I think that question time should not be wasted on questions that can be found out on the net.

Then, in what one of his own backbench colleagues described to me as a 'humiliating backdown', the next morning on 4 April the minister had to make a personal explanation, where he fessed up that what he had said to the house the previous day had been wrong and that his salary would not be gazetted in the GovernmentGazette, and he corrected the record on the next day. In a subsequent question on the afternoon of 4 April, I again put the question to the minister and he refused to answer. He said that Mr Watson's contract is held with the minister and he also claimed that Mr Watson was a public servant.

Information provided to the opposition from a source with very detailed knowledge of the minister's office has indicated that Mr Watson's salary, or package, is significantly more than the $90,000-odd that the Hon. Mr Wortley inferred, or suggested, on 1 March of this year. We are also aware that prior to taking on this job, Mr Watson was a member of the WorkCover board, earning $35,379 a year; he was a member of the management Audit and Risk Committee of WorkCover, earning $5,307 a year; he was a member of the management workplace injury committee of WorkCover, earning $5,307 a year; and he was also a member of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Advisory Committee, earning $6,900 a year; for a total payment from taxpayers, or WorkCover and other bodies, of $52,893 from the public purse. In addition to that, he was also a senior union officer, receiving whatever his union was paying him within that particular union. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does Mr Watson have a contract held with the minister as claimed by the minister in March and April of this year, and if so, how is Mr Watson a public servant, as claimed by the minister?

2. Did Mr Watson resign from the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Advisory Committee, paying $6,900 a year, prior to accepting his job within the minister's office, and if so, on what date did he resign?

3. Will the minister now admit that Mr Watson is receiving significantly more than the $90,000-odd he suggested to this chamber on 1 March of this year?

4. For the third or fourth time now, will the minister indicate what is the total remuneration package being received by Mr Watson in his office?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:25): I must say the Hon. Mr Lucas does have quite an unhealthy fascination with Mr Watson. Mr Watson is employed as a term employee pursuant to section 5 of the Public Sector Act 2009 for a period of 12 months. Mr Watson confirmed his resignation from the WorkCover board formally by email on 7 February 2012. With regard to Mr Watson's wage, personally I have never even looked into what he is getting paid. I do not have the same fascination with someone's wages as the Hon. Mr Lucas does. All I know is that the honourable Jimmy Watson is a very good—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: He is very honourable. That is right. Mr Jimmy Watson is very honourable and he does a very good job in my office. He has a very good relationship not only with the unions whom he has worked with for many years but also with employers. He has a very good relationship and he is a very valued member of our staff.