WESTERN AUSTRALIAN
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION — TONI WALKINGTON
1123. Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN to the minister representing the
Minister for Commerce and Industrial Relations:
I refer to the minister's
responses to my questions without notice on 6 and 7 November concerning the
appointment of union leader Toni Walkington as a commissioner of the Western Australian
Industrial Relations Commission and, confident of the McGowan government's
professed commitment to transparency, accountability and honest government, I ask
the following questions.
(1) What informal
conventions, followed historically by both parties, did the minister follow
when selecting Ms Walkington?
(2) What were the
soundings with the appropriate industrial parties the minister referred to and
with whom and when did they take place and what was the result?
(3) When was the
earliest occasion on which the minister or, to his knowledge, the Premier
directly or indirectly informed Ms Walkington, and by what means and in what
terms, that the government would appoint her to a vacancy at the WAIRC?
(4) Why is Ms Walkington
having a union background important for an appointment to a non-partisan
industrial relations commission and what were the other selection criteria he
applied in making the selection?
(5) Why did the
minister not advertise for applicants to ensure that he would be selecting the
best-qualified commissioners, or did he decline to advertise because the
decision had already been made to reward Ms Walkington with the appointment?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The following information has been provided to me by the Minister for Commerce
and Industrial Relations.
(1)–(5) I refer to my
previous response to the member's questions without notice on 6 and 7 November.