The blunt assessment by former Home Affairs Minister Kristina Moore follows Chief Minister John Le Fondré’s first appearance before the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, of which she is the chairwoman.
The Chief Minister, however, defended his approach, describing himself as offering ‘integrity, inclusiveness and teamwork’.
Senator Moore said: ‘I want to hear from a leader with a plan. There was a clear lack of leadership demonstrated [at the Scrutiny hearing]. The Assembly went through a process to choose a new Chief Minister that clearly demonstrated they want to see a change in style. But we’re over 30 days in and the Chief Minister clearly doesn’t have a plan. You would hope that a new leader would understand the importance of hitting the ground running and taking on such a leadership role with a plan to execute. I wasn’t filled with confidence.’
She cited examples of Senator Le Fondré being unable to answer key questions as the reason for her reaching that conclusion.
Senator Moore added: ‘One of the biggest issues is changing the culture of the public sector. I asked the Chief Minister what role culture played in his plan and he didn’t have an answer. He said it was for the chief executive. But I believe culture is a matter for every leader. I also asked the Chief Minister what his priorities were. He was unable to say.’
When asked if she believed Senator Le Fondré would survive a full four-year parliamentary term, she said: ‘It’s early days. Lots of people are asking that question. It’s really important that, as an island, we do have faith in him. I am not prepared to give up yet.’
Today, Senator Moore’s panel was due to question Treasury Minister Susie Pinel for the first time. Senator Moore said she expected to see a stark difference in terms of the evidence the panel hears.
‘I am sure we will have a very different person. The role of Treasury Minister is an important one around the Council of Ministers’ table. I expect the hearing to be more focused and constructive. Deputy Pinel got to grips with the technical aspects as Social Security Minister and displayed a strong understanding, so I am sure she will have a good grasp of the technical aspects of being Treasury Minister.’
Senator Moore, meanwhile, said she was aware she was open to accusations of bearing grudges for not being selected to be a part of the new Council of Ministers despite coming second in the Senatorial polls at the general election.
She said: ‘I have got a responsibility to be positive and productive. Scrutiny needs a strong champion to show what it can achieve. It has an important role in good government and can really be a source for change because, perhaps, in the past politicians considered it second best. I didn’t expect to be in this role, but I am pleased to be in it.’
Responding to the criticism levelled at him by Senator Moore, Senator Le Fondré said: ‘When I stood as Chief Minister I made it clear that my intention was to listen and talk with colleagues, partners and stakeholders before rushing into major policy proposals. I said I would offer integrity, inclusiveness and teamwork, and the policy boards I am establishing are part of my commitment to enable all States Members to contribute to the important decisions that are facing us in the coming years.
‘Now, just over a month after this government was formed, we are making good progress on developing the details of our common strategic policy. I want to see the Council of Ministers having robust discussions at an early stage so we can base our decisions on facts, evidence and advice. We will be presenting our Strategic Plan to the States Assembly, as required, on 4 October, for consideration by Members and Islanders.’
