GAMING AND WAGERING COMMISSION — CHAIR —
DUNCAN ORD
57. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I
refer to the Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia 2016–17
annual report in which it is stated that chairman Barry Sargeant was stood down from this role as a result of the
Labor government's machinery-of-government changes.
(1) Was it wise
to replace Barry Sargeant, a person with 25 years of gaming regulation
experience, with someone who has no previous experience in gaming regulation?
(2) Was training
or support offered to the incoming chair to equip him with the skills required
for this complex role?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
(1)–(2) I vaguely recall the events at that point in time.
In mid-2017, the government went through the machinery-of-government
changes. At that time, when we came to office, there were 41 government departments in Western Australia—more than
any state or territory in Australia. As I said on the radio this
morning, Victoria has eight departments. Jeff Kennett reduced a few score down
to eight, and that has continued ever since the Kennett government. New South
Wales has 15 or 17 or thereabouts, Queensland has around 22 or thereabouts, and
so on across Australia.
The Western Australian government
took action on this, which was well overdue, and reduced the number of
government departments from 41 down to 25. The reason behind that was to
develop synergies between agencies with things in common and also to reduce red
tape and have less investment in bureaucracy, if you like, and more investment
in delivery. That was the reason behind the reform that we put in. As I said,
that reform was not as stark as reforms in Victoria or other states, but it was
still significant. There was a 40 per cent reduction in the number of
government departments.
When we did that, of course, there
were then fewer opportunities for people in director general or CEO roles. My
recollection at the time is that Barry Sargeant, who I am quite fond of and who
was a DG back in the 2000s when we did the
small bar reforms, decided of his own accord that he did not want to be—he
elected not to be, sorry. It is not that he did not want to be, but he elected
not to be the director general of the new agency. That was his choice at that
time. He suggested to me that Duncan Ord was the appropriate person to
undertake that role. I listened to Mr Sargeant's advice, I listened to
the advice of the minister at the time—I
think the member for Mandurah was the relevant minister—and I appointed
Mr Ord to the role. He is a highly respected public servant in Western Australia
and he is well liked. I think he was a director general when the Liberals and
Nationals were in office. He assumed the role.
Obviously, we recently called the
Perth Casino Royal Commission that will look into all these issues. I am not
going to pre-empt the outcomes of the royal commission.