Worrall, Mr Lance

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:11): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the leader in relation to the employment of a former senior public servant.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I have previously raised both in this chamber and in the Budget and Finance Committee the employment position of the former firstly Labor government ministerial staffer and then chief executive, Mr Lance Worrall. In brief, Mr Worrall, having been appointed to the chief executive of an industry and trade department on a salary of more than $300,000 per year, was then eventually deemed to be unsuitable to continue to be employed as a chief executive and was demoted. He became deputy chief executive officer of the department. Subsequently he was deemed to be unsuitable to be the deputy chief executive officer of the department and was further demoted, all the time continuing to retain his $300,000 a year chief executive officer salary.

We were informed last year that Mr Worrall was then seconded to do project officer work for the University of Adelaide in relation to a funding bid for the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) at the university, and whilst he was doing that project officer work he continued to be paid more than $300,000 a year under his chief executive officer salary.

On 7 May this year in this chamber I asked the minister questions about Mr Worrall’s position. My questions, in summary, were: would he continue to be employed? We had been told that his secondment down to the university expired in May of this year. His contract as a senior chief executive officer salary continued until June 2015. What were to be the ongoing employment arrangements?

The minister has not brought a reply back to the chamber but, as happenstance might provide, we have now been provided with a copy of the confidential briefing provided to the minister in relation to this issue. The answer provided to the minister the day afterwards, on 8 May, prepared by Mr Jeremy Phillips, the manager of executive and ministerial services in the minister’s department, and endorsed by the then chief executive of the department, Ray Garrand, was prepared on 8 May.

It indicated that the minister was advised that Mr Worrall’s initial 12-month secondment to the university was to expire on 9 May, but that had been extended until 30 May to allow time for the bid to be finalised and submitted for consideration by Minister Macfarlane. Mr Worrall continued to receive his contracted remuneration from DMITRE, etc.

It also notes in the confidential information section that the commentary in the reply prepared for the minister to give to the Hon. Mr Lucas in response to his question was that Mr Worrall's current duties were confirmed by Mr Worrall on 8 May 2014. The minister had a reply to my question prepared the day after it was asked. The minister, for her own reasons, possibly including embarrassment, chose not to provide those answers in this chamber until that particular answer was leaked to the opposition. My questions are:

1. Given that the answer to the question that I asked on 7 May was prepared for the minister and provided to her on 8 May, why did she choose not to provide it to the chamber?

2. Can the minister now update this chamber about whether taxpayers are still paying Mr Worrall more than $300,000 a year to do project officer work at the University of Adelaide and, if not, what work, if any, is Mr Worrall undertaking at the moment?

3. Given that Mr Worrall was deemed unsuitable to be a chief executive officer firstly, and given that he was deemed to be unsuitable to be deputy chief executive officer, how does the minister justify, on behalf of taxpayers, continuing to pay him $300,000 a year rather than terminating his services, as is possible under his contract, as a surplus employee?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his questions. I am not able to confirm the dates one way or the other. I do not have those dates in front of me. We know the Hon. Rob Lucas comes into this chamber time and time again with information that he just makes up. I am happy to take those questions on notice, to consider them, and bring back a response.