IT is unlikely the government will obey a summons by the state’s powerful Public Accounts Committee to release a document to its energy inquiry.
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Premier Will Hodgman in an interview on ABC Local Radio on Friday said while the government was still seeking advice on the matter, the document was bound by cabinet confidentiality.
“Advice provided to cabinet is held in confidence and there are good reasons for that, including very strong legal reasons,” he said.
Committee chairman Ivan Dean on Tuesday said the summons was issued after repeated requests were rejected for Treasurer Peter Gutwein to release an un-redacted copy of Treasury’s advice on a sale of the Tamar Valley Power Station.
A censored copy had previously been provided but with Treasury’s advice on whether or not to sell blacked out. Labor’s spokeswoman Madeleine Ogilvie accused the government of being secretive, adding that the full document would enable the committee to properly understand what happened in the lead up to the energy crisis
“Tasmanians want to know what the government has to hide,” she said.
“The PAC needs to be able to understand what advice the Treasurer and minister received and what action they took after receiving that advice.”
Labor when in government in 2012 used cabinet confidentiality to refuse the release of information to a Legislative Council committee's investigation into cost reduction strategies of the Department of Health and Human Services.
