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Stephen Robertson

Posted by: Michael Smith | 26 February, 2009 - 12:12 PM

12 months ago a young nurse was raped on remote Mabuiag Island. She was alone in a Queensland Health house that had no effective doors, no locks, no security screen, no warning system and no alarm. A crowd of drunken Islanders including her rapist was outside her house taunting her all night. No one came to her aid.

She spent the night cowering with a crayfish spear. The next morning her supervisor on another island told her the rape was unfortunate, but that she should get straight back to work or her pay would be docked. Weeks later Queensland Health did dock her pay.

Queensland Health refused to evacuate her from the island. Her boyfriend arranged for a helicopter to come in and get her.

The health minister knew about the attack 2 days after it happened and he did nothing until it was reported in The Australian newspaper. Then the spin doctoring started.

I spoke to the minister Stephen Robertson straight after the story became public - listen here

As is usual for the government, he ordered an enquiry. No sackings. A bloody enquiry.

No one was there looking after the girl. I spoke to her aunt on the air.

Next thing we know, Roxanne Ramsay the Northern Area Health Service GM for Queensland Health goes up to the islands and said to locals the rape could have been avoided if there had been “enhanced cultural awareness training” for staff like the raped nurse.

The young nurse said she was “devastated and degraded” by Roxanne Ramsay’s comments.

So Roxanne Ramsay wrote a letter to the editor of The Australian newspaper, in part she said “as a senior administrator I determined that cultural awareness training needed to be enhanced…..staff safety will be enhanced where there is support from the local community.”

Roxanne Ramsay said the nurse’s reaction to her comments was “ludicrous and inaccurate.”

Like Mick Reid, the current Director General of Queensland Health, Roxanne Ramsay was formerly on the staff of a Labor Health Minister. She came from South Australia where she was mentioned in the SA Parliament prior to moving to her job with Queensland Health.

And now, 12 months after the rape, the report is quietly slipped onto a website one evening. The report is not complete, it’s been edited. The woman who should have been sacked the day after ordering the young nurse back to work has still been in her job for the past 12 months.

The department knew about the lack of security in these houses. They’d sat on reports for years. And nothing is done.

Stephen Robertson is a disgrace. This is a scandal. Over to you.

Blog comments

Micheal your question to Bligh the other day about whether Robertson was going be health minister if they won was spot on. Remember she said she could not speculate. Voters needed to know if this peice of work was getting back the job he cannot handle. It will cost labour but at least Bligh will have someone to blame for the loss.
On a sicker note, with the tax payer paying for Blighs and Frasier legal fees in the action with Palmer, isn't nice to think that tax payers will also be paying the legal fees AGAINST the nurse here, and better still we more than likely paid for the legal fees for her attacker. Something is really wrong with the system.
The government could have stood up and said they will fast track her compensation claim and go to mediation on it immediately ,but no they want this under the carpet.
Don't let them.

Andrew Friday 27 February, 2009 - 9:25 AM
This is indicative of the current Queensland government. All care and concern while the cameras are rolling. I would bet on a three-legged racehorse in the Melbourne Cup before I would vote for any sitting member of the Bligh government. Roll on Election Day!!!

Des Thursday 26 February, 2009 - 7:48 PM
At least Peter Beattie sacked his Ministers or made them resign when they were hopeless.

Anna Bligh doesn't seem care or maybe she just isnt strong enough to force them out?

So we get stuck with duds like stephen Robertson as Cabinet Ministers. It's time Bligh got tough and booted this loser.

john Thursday 26 February, 2009 - 2:52 PM