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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-14 Daily Xml
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CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:45): I rise to place some facts on the Hansard. It is unusual for me to do this but I have been working with constituents and some others for some time and I have serious concerns about human resource management and how consideration of staff harassment and bullying and the general support of a good work ethos has deteriorated within the Department for Correctional Services. I trust that, from what I have to say now, the minister responsible will actually take a first-hand look at this and not merely rely upon briefing notes sent over from the CEO or executive members of the Department for Correctional Services.

I fear that, if this sort of alleged behaviour continues to grow in the DCS area—I am particularly talking about those officers who work in the most difficult areas, and that is the mainstream prison system—and is not addressed, we will see horrendous consequences for the safety and wellbeing of the officers and the good management of the prison system.

I raise these issues after having met and having detailed discussions and looking at correspondence from Mr Neil Franklin—who advised my office that he was happy to have his name put on the public record—and also Mr Alan Radford. These people are experienced, longstanding officers of the department. The evidence I have indicates that there is clearly specific harassment and bullying of a number of employees within the department. There are also issues around the temporary probation period, the appointment of officers and issues around permanent employment.

It appears to me that, without any doubt, there are some members of the staff of DCS who have support and an ear to the hierarchy of the department, but the department, and the hierarchy, in particular, is not listening to or looking after the best interests of the rank and file and tends to support a small but vocal group who have a very big say in what happens on a day-to-day basis in the work environment.

I was minister for correctional services for several years. It is a difficult area to manage, but we must first and foremost have executive management looking closely at the wellbeing, the equity and the fairness of human resource management right across the spectrum of the department. I believe this is not happening at the moment. It is a time bomb ticking away that could have a horrendous impact on looking after the most difficult area of law and order, mainly the area of incarceration in correctional services.

I also think that the minister, as a new minister, should have a close look at some of the appointments that have occurred at executive level. Allegations have been put to me that there is a nice cosy relationship coming forward—almost nepotism, I would suggest—where the executive is specifically building people around it who have come from other states. I do not have a problem with that, but if that comes at a cost to those people who have been working for the South Australian Department for Correctional Services for many years—when they do not even get a chance to put a foot in the door—I think the minister has to look at what is happening with some of those appointments.

I have to say that we did make some inroads into this when we looked at the Public Sector Reform Bill, because we were going to see a lot of these new employees in correctional services and some longstanding employees being shifted from places like Yatala to Mobilong with no consideration for their families and no offers of support whatsoever. It was a pretty appalling attitude if they did not take the direction of the executive.

I encourage the executive to look closely at this issue, too. I know that it will not be happy with the fact that I have raised this. I have quite a lot more that I can and will say in the parliament, if required, but I am putting the department, the minister and, most importantly, the executive, on notice: if they do not have a very close look at issues on which I have specific evidence—about harassment and bullying—we will have to raise this further within the parliamentary arena. They need to get on top of this right now. They need to look at fairness and equity. The staff member in charge of human resource management needs to understand that we have to be considerate to all of the people we work for, manage and support.

Human resource management is always important in any organisation but, particularly with the difficulties around correctional services, everybody must be given a fair go, and that is not happening at the moment.

Time expired.

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