Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman cannot objectively oversee changes to the Emergency Services Agency following an external review that found evidence of unaddressed, long-running issues, the firefighters' union has said.
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Mr Gentleman acknowledged the "concerning" findings in the report but said implementing the recommendations was a matter for the public service.
United Firefighters Union ACT branch secretary Greg McConville said Chief Minister Andrew Barr should step in to oversee changes to the agency.
James Milligan, the opposition spokesman on emergency services, said Mr Barr should appoint another minister to oversee changes to the agency.
"The key issue here that the agency has been without a clear direction is particularly damning and, again, the fault for that lies with the Minister for Emergency Services," Mr Milligan said.
"It would be good for Mr Barr to step in and appoint a different minister to have oversight of the implementation. I call on the government to take this matter seriously and hand this off to another area of the government to oversee the process."
Mr Gentleman said he was confident an oversight committee with an independent external chair could successfully change the agency.
"The implementation of these recommendations will be an opportunity to achieve positive outcomes for the excellent staff employed by the Emergency Services Agency," Mr Gentleman said in a statement.
'Culture of blame'
Mr McConville said Mr Gentleman's declaration of confidence for the agency's executive staff before the review findings were released meant the minister had already showed his hand.
"How can you have confidence that the minister will, without favour and without fear, implement the recommendations and the next steps when he's already said he has confidence in the ESA commissioner?" Mr McConville said.
"As talented as the minister is, and as much respect as we have for him, this needs to be overseen by someone else because ESA staff are hurting.
"This points to a culture of blame - victimisation is not far from blame - and they need to know that the highest level of government is hearing their voice and is acting seriously on these recommendations."
Mr Gentleman on June 8 told the Legislative Assembly: "I have every confidence in the ESA and the ESA commissioner."
The Emergency Services Agency should be recast as an executive and administration body rather than seeking to position itself as an operational service, he said.
A cultural shift is needed
Mr McConville said he would write to Mr Barr to say he should step in and draw the Chief Minister's attention to the review, which had found cultural problems, and a recent audit of the procurement process for an electric fire truck had found probity issues.
"We will be pointing to the review of the Auditor-General that was released over a week ago, and the systemic problems our members have been pointing to," he said.
"When you put that all together, this report talks about a culture in which verbal agreements are made; that is, arrangements are reached with no documentation.
"The Auditor-General pointed to exactly the same problem where time and time again, documents that were said to exist were found not to exist. Where processes were said that they were going to be undertaken and ultimately, they weren't."
The Emergency Services Agency breached the territory's procurement guidelines in its purchase of the new $1.6 million Rosenbauer hybrid-electric fire truck by failing to assess the machine's value for money, the ACT Auditor-General said on Friday, June 30.
The report also detailed a litany of issues linked to the purchase, including a lack of accurate technical information from the manufacturer, a lack of proper operational assessment, and a rushed sign-off so the ESA could elevate its reputational status by being the first in Australia to buy one.
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The review of the the Emergency Services Agency's executive leadership had been commissioned in March.
The snap review identified examples of agency executives bullying, blaming, withholding information and undermining decisions, and said a "cultural shift" was needed. It made 18 recommendations.
Mr Gentleman said he was made aware of the findings of the review, overseen by former Ambulance Victoria chief executive Tony Walker, and its recommendations early this week.
"The Executive Leadership Alignment Review of the ESA was recently concluded and delivered to the director-general of JACS, and distributed amongst staff. This was a review that was commissioned by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and undertaken by an independent entity with the support of the Office of Industrial Relations and Workforce Strategy in [the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate]," he said.
"I have not spoken to Professor Walker as part of the review."
Mr Gentleman said it was a public service administration matter and that was why Justice and Community Safety Directorate director-general Richard Glenn was developing a plan to implement all the recommendations.
"There are of course concerning findings in the report, which is why implementation of the recommendations and culture change in the ESA is so important," he said.
Mr McConville declined to comment on the future of Emergency Services Agency commissioner Georgeina Whelan.
"For legal reasons, I'm not going to say specifically anything about the position of the individual who holds that role, but I will say that it is within the remit of government to seriously consider what should happen next," he said.
The Canberra Times also contacted Mr Barr's office for comment.
Mr Milligan said the damning review of the Emergency Services Agency was a "shocking read" but he was concerned about the implementation of the recommendations.
"I have a lack of faith and trust in the current minister to implement these [recommendations]. ... What is it going to take for the concerns of our firies and our paramedics - our front-line officers - for their issues to be heard?" Mr Milligan said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
