Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad has accused the Tasmanian government of using taxpayer money to suppress Integrity Commission findings through Supreme Court action.
Haddad pressed Attorney-General Guy Barnett in parliament today on whether $108,000 in taxpayer-funded legal assistance approved for the former chair of the Heritage Council to take Supreme Court action involves the Integrity Commission.
Barnett refused to confirm or deny the connection, citing confidentiality obligations.
“I do not accept the basis of your question in any way, shape or form,” he said.
“The allegations are unfair, unfounded and are not accepted in any way, shape or form.”
Barnett told parliament he had no intention of breaching the law by revealing information that would be “totally inappropriate and unlawful to reveal.”
He said the Integrity Commission’s Chief Commissioner had expressed views in recent months about why certain matters could not be publicly revealed “for the purposes of procedural fairness in terms of natural justice.”
Barnett also noted that as the state’s first law officer, he regularly takes actions or intervenes in legal matters on behalf of the state.
Haddad said the response only deepened her concerns.
“I asked Mr Barnett whether taxpayer-funded legal assistance was being used to take Integrity Commission matters to the Supreme Court and prevent findings from being made public,” she said.
“He called the question unfair and unfounded, but he did not deny it.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has previously confirmed former Liberal ministers Madeleine Ogilvie and Jane Howlett have been involved in secret legal matters with the Integrity Commission.
The cost to taxpayers is approaching $1 million across both sides of the disputes.
The Integrity Commission has also confirmed that Supreme Court action can prevent one of its reports from being released.
Haddad said if the Heritage Council matter had nothing to do with the Integrity Commission, Barnett could simply have said so.
“It seems clear the government has a strategy at play here, using taxpayers’ money to take integrity commission matters to court, just so commission findings are kept hidden from the public,” she said.
