Rockliff condemned by his own words

Premier Rockliff says asking questions about Minister Jane Howlett’s more than $300,000 in secret taxpayer-funded legal fees is “toxic” and “gotcha politics”.

But when Premier Rockliff was in Opposition, he had a very different standard, demanding accountability from the Deputy Premier of the day while accusing him of:

• Misleading the Parliament by omission.
• Failure to exercise appropriate Ministerial standards.
• Refusing to be open and honest.

During the debate, Rockliff condemned and sought Parliamentary action against a Minister for refusing to answer questions about a secret matter during three weeks of Parliamentary scrutiny.

In a media release following the debate Rockliff said:

“The Premier’s made a massive mistake by not demanding the sort of standards of accountability by his members that the Tasmanian public expect and the Westminster system demands.”

He also said the Deputy Premier at the time:

“Tried to cover it all up for weeks, refusing to answer questions and only coming clean when he was cornered and had no choice.”

Those were Premier Rockliff’s words then - and they apply perfectly to himself today.

Now, instead of answering basic questions, he is attacking everyone else which is exactly what he condemned when the shoe was on the other foot.

Premier Rockliff accepted Madeleine Ogilvie’s resignation because she could not answer basis questions about her own secret legal fees. But Jane Howlett remains in Cabinet, despite racking up more than $300,000 in secret in taxpayer-funded legal fees and refusing to answer a single question about what Tasmanians are paying for.

If Jane Howlett hasn’t initiated Supreme Court proceedings, she should simply say so. If her legal fees have nothing to do with an Integrity Commission matter, she should simply rule that out.

And if Premier Rockliff believes her answers have been “adequate”, he should explain why his standards for Jane Howlett are lower than the standards he applied to Madeleine Ogilvie.

The Premier’s behaviour over the past six months has shown his judgement can no longer be trusted when it comes to the integrity of his Ministers.

Jane Howlett’s position in Cabinet is untenable while the Liberals refuse to answer basic questions about a secret legal matter funded by Tasmanian taxpayers.

Ministers must be beyond reproach. They cannot sit around the Cabinet table while hiding behind legal secrecy over hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money.

This is not “gotcha politics”. This is accountability.