Life is cheap under McGinty's "truth in sentencing" laws

Three year and 4 months for vicious manslaughter under McGinty's "Truth in Sentencing" laws.

Jim McGinty's incompetence and failure as Attorney General in the pathetic Carpenter Labor Government was on display for all to see in the sentencing of 22 year old violent Geraldton thug Mathew McDonald for the manslaughter of Geraldton father of five Bill Rowe, who he bludgeoned with a cricket bat on Christmas Day last year.

Bill Rowe who was bashed over the head by a cricket bat on a Geraldton beach, died on Boxing Day.

This thug already was the beneficiary of a suspended 9 month sentence in 2006 for another bashing in Carnarvon. McDonald was not even a juvenile at the time of both offences. Instead of the maximum penalty of 20 years gaol for manslaughter, and this must rank as one of the worst cases in the Desert Rat's view, McGinty's "Truth in Sentencing" laws reduced his sentence to 13 years and 4 months.

McDonald was drunk at the time and admitted he had smoked a huge amount of cannabis that morning - which he would have been allowed to grow at home under McGinty's lax drug "reforms".

With all the other sentencing credits available to him, McDonald received a sentence of 5 years and could be free on parole in 3 years and nine months.

This is the outcome of the incompetent McGinty's "Truth in Sentencing" laws which were a major contributor to Labor's loss of government.

Is McGinty apologist Ken Travers the only person who doubts McGinty's abysmal failure as a Minister?

McGinty's Emergency Department Mess

Running Amok in Emergency

Self-appointed Emperor Jim McGinty reminds the Desert Rat of the scene from the Wizard of Oz when the great curtains in the Emerald City are finally pulled back.

Dorothy and her friends find ..... nothing. Just a small, anxious figure who had until then been able to project a big, confident illusion.

Like many, this powerful figure once had the Desert Rat's respect. He had the power to make things happen; to do good things. As he took control of the ALP a different picture gradually emerged - the political titan, and skilled strategist became a ruthless and surprisingly incompetent minister. A person who was not a leader, but one of the Stalinist Left who controls using the weapon of fear - a person whose larger than life impression has shrunken and wasted over the last three years.

Was it the cancer of power and insecurity?

Wallowing in a tsnami of mining generated taxes and revenue which allowed expensive announcements, helped disguise the many failures of McGinty's dysfunctional oversight of the Health Department.

Those failure are now on display everywhere. Today's The West Australian carries a report that Emergency Department (ED) doctors at our public hospitals are considering industrial action.

Not surprising to the Desert Rat, staff are leaving the public health system because they are not appreciated. Their motivation to do the extra work needed has been exhausted and destroyed. They don't feel appreciated.

Jim McGinty has consistently and cynically left the Emergency Departments understaffed, as shown by this table compiled from recent answers to questions in State Parliament

Hospital	Budgeted FTE's	Actual FTE's	FTE's Resigned
Royal Perth	122	94	22
Sir Charles Gairdner	114	98	15
Fremantle	103	92	16

They are understaffed by about 25%. No wonder they can't cope and resignations churn the system requiring existing staff to train and train new staff; time that could be better spent doing their job.

SCGH is understaffed by 16 registered nurses; RPH is understaffed by 28 registered nurses and Fremantle by 11 registered nurses. They are all budgeted positions. Little wonder the resignations levels are so high.

Staff that front each day are under enormous pressure. They are assaulted, insulted and unappreciated by the impersonal style of management that Jim McGinty has fostered in the Health Department.

No amount of new legislation or new hospitals in the Kimberley or elsewhere will fix the people management problem in the Health Department. Jenny Pickworth described the fear and intimidation felt by senior management in the Health Department.

McGinty's costly penchant for centralising everything in health has taken management further away from the staff. When you fail to motivate and appreciate staff they soon lose interest. Many hospitals cannot get staff to do after-hours call work in emergencies.

Some obstetrics hospitals are operating dangerously - without staff available for emergency call-outs. No wonder midwives burn-out and retire early.

McGinty's answer to stop the resignations and ease the workload on ED's was to ramp ambulances which was highlighted in this earlier post. Up to a dozen ambulance can be ramped at ED's. All of these ED's are grossly understaffed and well below their budgeted staff numbers.

It is a pity some of the $90 million McGinty has wasted on the Corruption and Crime Commission has not found its way in filling the budgeted vacancies and properly remunerating Emergency Department staff.

The Chaos Theory may work well in physics but McGinty hasn't worked out that it has little application to Health.

McGinty’s Obstetrics Mess (Part 1)

What Vision? Just Indecision and always Division*

Health Minister Jim McGinty incessantly talks about his health vision. The Desert Rat suspects McGinty does not have a coherent strategy; rather he is just preoccupied with short term fixes to crises. This usually results in shifting the problem rather than fixing it – thus ensuring another crisis. See ambulance ramping.

His health planning incompetence is reflected everywhere.

For example, look at the obstetrics mess.

2001 $2.5 million spent on an upgrade of Woodside Maternity Hospital in East Fremantle. A new roof, air-conditioning and two theatres upgraded.

2005 August. Announcement a further $2 million upgrade of Woodside Maternity Hospital.

2005 August. One week later, $2 million upgrade suspended! Feasibility “study” is announced to move Woodside Maternity Hospital to a wing of the failed*, half-empty Kaleeya Hospital.

*McGinty needed a solution to fill the underperforming Kaleeya Hospital where he still can’t get surgeons to operate because there is no intensive care unit. It did bloodless surgery before he bought it.

2005 December. McGinty rushes announcement to move Woodside to Kaleeya just before Xmas to avoid bad publicity. Feasibility study claims a $2 million annual recurrent savings from closing Woodside Hospital. No required Business Case Study done and feasibility figure are ridiculous. The management of Woodside Hospital were treated with gross disrespect.

2006 April. Move to Kaleeya Hospital ward rushed and poorly organised. Move is temporary (for 5 years) until Obstetrics and Gynaecology facilities are available at Stage 1 of Fiona Stanley Hospital in 2010.

Kaleeya Hospital is unsuitable for maternity but McGinty presses ahead to fill a ward of a half empty underperforming hospital which he bought with much fanfare before the 2004 election for elective surgery.

2008 January. Massive budget overruns at Kaleeya Hospital Mr McGinty?

Completion date of Fiona Stanley Hospital has blown out to early 2013. Obstetrics and gynaecology have secretly been removed from Stage 1 of Fiona Stanley. Financial blow out of Fiona Stanley Hospital over $700 million announced.

Kaleeya Maternity ward will probably need to operate for at least 15 years despite short-comings.

Woodside Hospital is left in mothballs for 18 months - without any plans for its future. McGinty complains about lack of suitable mental health accommodation but too spineless to use Woodside which is in his electorate.

Were the erratic changes and delays above just plain incompetence by McGinty or weren’t the public told the truth about the “savings" or move to Fiona Stanley Hospital?

Which is it Mr McGinty? Worse still, is it both?

* "History never repeats itself - but it often rhymes" Mark Twain

Is McGinty above the CCC Law?

McGinty Fails Requirements of the Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003

Attorney General Jim McGinty hasn’t tabled in Parliament, a Review of the Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 as required by law. McGinty’s continuing incompetence is again on show. The self-appointed Emperor of Western Australia has been too busy chasing Brian Burke and Julian Grill to do his job competently.

The Desert Rat is not impressed. Is Jim McGinty above the law? Who would dare stand up to him? Why wasn’t the Report presented to Parliament by the due date? What has been the delay? Has McGinty got the report? Is he sitting on it?

Section 226. Review of Corruption and Crime Commission Act

(1) The Minister is to carry out a review of the operation and effectiveness of this Act as soon as is practicable after the expiration of 3 years after its commencement.

(2) The Minister is to prepare a report based on the review made under subsection (1) and cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament within 4 years after the commencement of this Act.

Under Section 226 of the Act, the Attorney General is required to carry out a review of the Act three years after the Act commenced and to present a report, based on the review, to Parliament within four years of the Act commencing. The Review was supposed to be tabled in Parliament before 1 January 2008 - the expiry of 4 years. As of today, it is already a week late.

His favourite legal reviewer Gail Archer (above) was been appointed to conduct the review. Has McGinty been giving her more consultancies than she can handle? She has reviewed the Magistrates Court Procedures and is reviewing the Corruption and Crime Commission Act for McGinty. I've been told she reviewed the Parole Act and the Criminal Code as well - can anyone confirm? McGinty also apointed Archer to the Medical Board. What other work is she doing for McGinty? Is Gail Archer the only person the Emperor trusts for such a sensitive job?

Why hasn’t the Review been done and tabled as required by law? Perhaps the Emperor has issued a decree that allows him to flout the law?

Is Attorney General Jim McGinty above the law? Will the CCC investigate? And pigs might fly.