THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC
ACTING SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
MITCH MISSING IN ACTION ON KEY REFORMS AND APPOINTMENTS
The Minister for Communications, Senator Mitch Fifield, continues to prove the accolade given to him last year as the most ineffective politician in the land.
An article in The Australian this morning has once again spelled out just how disengaged the Minister has been in his portfolio.
The Minister still has not made a number of key appointments:
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There has not been a permanent head of the ACMA since last February.
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The SBS Chairman position has been vacant for over a year.
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There have been two positions vacant on the ABC board for 20 months.
Key reviews requiring the Ministers involvement have also failed to deliver:
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The Spectrum Review was kicked off in May 2014 and we still haven't seen any reform package.
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The ACMA Review was announced in June 2015 and there's still no final report.
Maybe this is why the Minister is so determined to keep his diary a secret, it would show exactly what he does with his time - not much.
Its not like hes busy focusing on the rollout of the National Broadband Network either. The Minister constantly refers any questions of substance back to NBN Co or officers in his Department, even on matters which he claimed to have superior knowledge over Labor.
Labor's serve to Minister Fifield last December appeared to prompt a modest flurry of activity before the year ended. Hopefully this reminder has a similar effect.
The media sector deserves better than a Minister who is missing in action. Mitch Fifield needs to discover his in-tray and simply do his job.
MONDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2017
