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Page 30 Senate Monday, 27 February 2017 Senator WONG: Thank you. Can I talk to you about being short on shifts. Mr Cooper, you took this on notice last time. I asked you how many times the department has not been able to fill all shifts. I understand that this is across this building and external to the building, all of the points—is that the best way to describe them? Mr Cooper: Yes. Senator WONG: Which have to be staffed to the number of people that is the optimal number of people. I asked how many times you cannot fill those. Your answer was—and I actually appreciate your transparency around this—the usual thing, which is, 'It would take us too long to tell you, Senator.' But you did say you had experienced daily instances where operational demand had exceeded available resourcing. Mr Cooper: That is correct. Senator WONG: That is a very concerning statement. Mr Cooper: Perhaps I could put some context around it. Senator WONG: I am not actually critical of you for telling me that; I am pleased you told me that. But it is a concerning statement. Mr Cooper: The first thing I would like to say is that recruitment, increasing our numbers in security, has been the single biggest priority for me since I came on board here last April. I have already put on record the success we are having in recruiting. I think two more recruitment rounds, at the way we have been going, should almost see us full. We need to ensure that, as we go forward with recruiting, we are addressing our attrition rate and so forth. When we talk about, on a daily basis, security points or security not having the full complement, putting aside for a moment the fact that there is always a little bit of fat in any roster, some of these are shifts where we have not been able to have someone manage a full shift or we have had to extend a shift because of ongoing activity in the House and that has prevented someone from coming to work the next day at the scheduled time because perhaps that would breach our 10-hour rule, that they need a 10-hour break. But, more importantly, I would like to put on record that security has not been compromised because of our staffing levels, and that is because our critical points are a priority for us. We manage our vacancies through a number of means. One of them is a pool of, at the moment, approximately 27 casuals that fill in over time. As I said at our last gathering, the risk management is done in consultation with the AFP because of our integrated security model. Senator WONG: Do you receive the daily staffing sheet high-level multi-summary? Mr Cooper: I do not receive it. It is available to me, but I do not look at it frequently. I am aware of our challenges, and I am aware of the mitigation strategies we have in place to manage them. Senator WONG: I have received some of these. For example—I have just pulled one out—on Thursday, 20 October 2016, there are many open shifts. At point 1, at the reps entry, reps gallery, Senate entry. You say there is a bit of fat. Are you doing rosters that have a lot of fat in them? Mr Cooper: No, I was just making the observation that any good rostering system would allow for small contingency. But I did put that aside in my response. Senator WONG: In the reps gallery estimates—I do not know what that means—I have got eight open shifts. In fact, there are more open shifts than allocated staff. It just seems extraordinary, that is all. Mr Cooper: We are managing it, and we are managing it, as I say, to a point where we have not had a security compromise because of staffing issues. Senator WONG: You cannot say that it does not matter that we are not putting people on when we are supposed to have people there, because we have not had a security compromise. That is not an answer, is it? Mr Cooper: Perhaps it is not. Senator WONG: We do things so we do not have a compromise. Mr Cooper: That is right. Another element of what you have in front of you is that it may be—and I do not know—that where we have gaps we are ringing around our 27-odd casuals to try and get people into work to fill those shifts. We are ringing around people who are willing to do overtime to come in and fill those shifts. These are the strategies that we have been using. But I cannot state enough that the comprehensive recruitment campaign I introduced in April last year is delivering results. Looking at those figures now, I would say that we are probably two more campaigns away from getting very close to a full staffing complement. Senator WONG: Mr Creagh, can you tell me anything now about what you were going away to find out? Mr Creagh: I am going to have to take that on notice because there is a fair amount of data that I am unable to filter through at this stage. FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Monday, 27 February 2017 Senate Page 31 Senator WONG: Going back to the original funding for the changes to security—which I think was in 2014- 15—I would like to understand the staffing component and the component bits of the costing: how many people and at what levels. Against that, I would like to understand what has actually happened. There might have been changes. There might have been a revision to the allocation you sought. I am just trying to get a sense of the comparison between what you asked for and what you are doing. Is that okay? Mr Stefanic: We will get that for you. Senator WONG: Mr Cooper, I do not want to belabour this because I would like to move on. But you said there has not been a compromise—but there has. We had a very high-profile compromise in the Reps gallery, did we not? Mr Cooper: That was not the result of a lack of staffing. That was the point I made. The President: In relation to the question from Senator Wong—and the questions are welcome; there is no issue with that—I think it is good to again get it on the record that we have in excess of 100 AFP officers attached to the parliament through a memorandum of understanding with the Minister for Justice. We will have approaching—and I am not going to be exact with the numbers, for obvious reasons—200 departmental parliamentary security staff when we reach the point we wish to reach. They, both the AFP and the PSS, are organisations with trained staff. The gaps you referred to in the rostering system—that is a concern. But they have been filled. That might be the start-of-day roster you are examining rather than what actually happens on the day. That is a status. It is a fact at a point in time. Senator WONG: They are generated the night before, are they not? The President: Yes. I want to emphasise that there is a point in time when a roster is developed. After that point in time there should be no gaps in the roster at the points you have identified. I would hope that is the case, and I will certainly be questioning the department about this privately subsequent to this hearing. Senator WONG: That is fine, but maybe we should ask that question. I would like that information. The President: Exactly. These are the matters that I wanted to put out there. I believe the building is secure, and that is the most important thing—gaps are filled. In relation to the incident in the House of Representatives chamber, I again support the staff in relation to that. We had additional surge capacity, and this parliament also has a major surge capacity with the Australian Federal Police for incidents such as the one that occurred on that day. Outside of the front of Parliament House on that day there was a surge response which was very adequate and very rapid. Senator WONG: Is there a review of that incident being undertaken and, if so, what is its status? Mr Cooper: Yes, an investigation of that incident has been undertaken. A draft report with recommendations is being prepared for the Security Management Board? Senator WONG: When was that finalised? Mr Cooper: Perhaps last week. There has been some to-ing and fro-ing with it, but it will go to the next Security Management Board meeting or will go to them out of session prior to the next meeting. Senator WONG: At some point will it go to the relevant committee—the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations, Staffing and Security? The President: I do not see any reason why they cannot have it. Senator WONG: Mr Cooper, you referred again today to a functional review of security—which you told me about in October 2016 as well. When is that being finalised and who is doing it? Mr Cooper: That is being conducted by DPS Security Branch and the AFP. It is due for completion in the second half of this calendar year. There are two components of that review. One is the review and improvement of our security policies and procedures. The other element is a risk management exercise—a risk review of the house. This would be the first review of its kind since the AFP came on board. Senator WONG: I am just trying to get some time frames. When is it likely to be finished? Mr Cooper: In the second half of this calendar year. Senator WONG: Okay. So it is quite some time. I will move on to another topic just so we can skip through. In early February the Prime Minister, the Minister for Education and Training, the Minister for Social Services and the Assistant Minister for Social Services conducted a press conference in what looked to be like footage involving the Parliament House childcare centre. Are you aware of that, Mr President? The President: No, but keep going, Senator Wong. FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
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