Prompted by comments by
Henry Palaszczuk on twitter, I thought it might be prudent to remind Ros Bates of the Charter of Ministerial Responsibilities that was kindly provided by Premier Newman.....
10
April 2012
The
Honourable Ros Bates MP
Minister
for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts
Level
5, Executive Building
100
George Street
BRISBANE
QLD 4000
Dear
Minister
Ministerial
Deliverables
Congratulations
on your success in the electorate of Mudgeeraba and thank you for accepting my
invitation to serve Queensland as the Minister for Science, Information
Technology, Innovation and the Arts.
Our
electoral success was achieved with a strong cohesive CanDo team committed to real change, and your contribution to the
team played a significant part.
Queenslanders have voted for change, and it is critical that we respect
the trust bestowed on us by delivering on our commitments to grow a four pillar
economy, lower the cost of living by cutting waste, deliver better
infrastructure and better planning, revitalise front line services for
families, restore accountability in Government and work towards our goal of
achieving 4% unemployment in six years.
For
this reason, I am writing to each Minister outlining my expectations of the
priority tasks to be achieved to deliver on our election commitments. You and your Department have a vital role to
play in the reform program, as reflected in the following tasks for which I am
requesting you to take responsibility.
I
expect that at all times Ministers will demonstrate to the public the
capabilities and behaviours that will define us as the Government we undertook
to be – united, energetic, disciplined and ethical. I refer you to the
Queensland Cabinet Handbook, the Queensland Ministerial Handbook, the
Queensland Executive Council Handbook, the Queensland Parliamentary Procedures
Handbook and the Queensland Legislation Handbook.
First Term Tasks
·
Implement
all LNP election policy commitments relevant to your portfolio.
·
Identify
wasteful expenditure that could be redirected to front line services.
·
Ensure a consistent approach to IT
systems and applications across Government to enable effective and efficient
delivery of front line services.
·
Audit
current IT systems, applications and support services being used by all State Government
agencies including how they enable effective and efficient delivery of front
line services, limitations, faults and risks; and implement a strategy to
ensure continued use of endorsed systems and applications for the next three
years without failure; and specifically:
-
Ensure that further operating losses are
not incurred relating to the Centre for Information Technology and
Communication (CITEC);
-
Support the Minister for Health in
resolving the Health payroll debacle.
-
Decide if migrating to managed services
would be the best solution for 13 Queensland Government agencies currently
receiving assistance through CITEC;
-
Review the benefits management plan for
both Identity, Directory and Email Services (IDES) and ICTC outlining
performance measures, agency migration plans, estimated migration costs,
savings and benefits.
-
Define timelines for (IDES) to ensure
there are no further delays in this program.
-
Liaise with the Health Minister in
relation to the IeMR server contract signed before the 2012 caretaker period.
·
Deliver
the LNP’s election policy Science and
Innovation for Economic Success, in consultation with Ministerial
colleagues.
·
Oversee
policy development for the Digital Economy.
·
Provide
direction and policy development regarding the Queensland Government Chief
Information Officer (CIO). Your priority will be to bring to Cabinet your
recommendations for future roles of the CIO, including consideration of the
CIO’s role and activities across the whole of government.
·
Establish
mechanisms for research and development coordination and planning and
innovation across sectors involving government agencies, universities and
industry, including international collaborations, to improve Queensland’s
economic performance with more effective and efficient services.
·
Deliver
the LNP’s election policy Arts for all
Queenslanders.
·
Establish a
Super Star Fund to promote our growing performing arts industry which
organisations can apply for, to develop a major local production featuring an
internationally known artist or artists.
·
Establish a
Regional Arts Fund to extend the reach of current touring programs and to
ensure that major State companies such as the Queensland Theatre Company, the
Queensland Ballet, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Opera Queensland are
supported in their goal of touring high quality arts experiences annually to
regional Queensland.
·
Develop
and implement a strategy for the growth of the arts sector in Queensland
including a commercially oriented approach to artistic events and performances
and facilities to have wide impact for Queensland communities.
·
Foster
a ‘community of arts’ across Queensland involving artists and performers, for
profit and not for profit organisations and community organisations and
teaching institutions to contribute to the growth of the arts sector.
·
Implement
the LNP’s election commitment for sustainable public sector growth.
·
Implement
the LNP’s election commitment to reduce red tape.
·
Continue
to establish effective working relationships with stakeholders and other
interest groups relevant to your portfolio areas.
Existing
government strategies and programs
In
addition, there are existing strategies and programs implemented by previous
governments which need to be examined.
Such strategies and programs need to be assessed to decide if and how
they might be retained, either in their existing or an altered form. You are to assess and make recommendations on
the Smart State Strategy.
Could
you please consult with your Director-General to ensure these goals are
understood by the Department and that systems are in place to monitor and
report on progress towards their achievement, so that you are able to update
Cabinet regularly. In this regard, the Department of Premier and Cabinet will
be responsible for coordinating reports to Cabinet on progress, and will assist
your Department with proposed reporting formats.
I
intend to review this charter and your efforts to implement it regularly.
Finally,
I congratulate you again on your appointment and I look forward to working
closely with you as a Ministerial colleague as we implement our policies and
achieve the goal of providing a CanDo Government to get Queensland back on
track.
Yours
sincerely
CAMPBELL NEWMAN
PREMIER OF
QUEENSLAND
and then a Supplementary letter......
16
April 2012
The
Honourable Ros Bates MP
Minister
for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts
Level
5, Executive Building
100
George Street
BRISBANE
QLD 4000
Dear
Minister
Ministerial
Deliverables
Further
to my letter of 10 April 2012, I write to clarify certain issues regarding your
role and responsibilities as a Minister in my LNP Government.
As
you are aware, the dissolution of the former Department of Environment and
Resource Management (DERM) in particular, and MoG changes in other Departments have
presented some issues regarding the placement and role of government scientific
officers.
It
is my intention that scientists from DERM and certain other Departments, and
their functions, should be transferred to your Department of Science,
Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, and that the expertise and
services of these scientists should be made available to other Ministers and
Departments to perform specific research, projects and tasks.
Therefore,
I am tasking you with establishing and maintaining a new system to provide
other Ministers and Departments with appropriate access via your Department to
scientific assistance to meet their various requirements.
It
is my further intention that you take over responsibility for the management
and administration of CorpTech, Queensland Shared
Services (QSS), and Smart Services Queensland (SSQ) from the Department of
Housing and Public Works as part of your Department and portfolio
responsibilities.
Yours
sincerely
CAMPBELL NEWMAN
PREMIER OF
QUEENSLAND
cc: Hon Andrew Powell MP, Hon Andrew
Cripps MP, Hon Bruce Flegg MP