Premier accused of blocking release of Chinese businesswoman Sally Zou documents

The Premier says releasing papers on his interactions with the enigmatic figure would unreasonably affect privacy. Labor’s called the affair “highly unusual”.

Premier Steven Marshall has been accused by the Opposition of blocking the release of documents relating to his interactions with enigmatic Chinese businesswoman and Liberal Party donor Sally Zou.

But Mr Marshall says he has nothing to hide and the government has “always followed the letter of the law” on Freedom of Information releases.

Labor lodged an FOI request last year seeking all correspondence from or to Ms Zou or her companies and was told three documents matched the request.

However, the party was denied access to the correspondence.

In response to an appeal, Labor received a letter signed by Mr Marshall, as “Principal FOI Officer” of the Office of the Premier, again refusing access to the documents on the basis the release would “unreasonably encroach on the personal privacy of a third party”.

Liberal donor Sally Zou. Picture: Jo-Anna Robinson

Premier Steven Marshall. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The information contained does not relate to the business of government and this third party, or dealings of an official nature,” he wrote.

“Rather, it contains information considered by the third party to be details of their personal views and personal relationships.”

Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said concerns had been growing about foreign influence in politics and it was “highly unusual” for the Premier to intervene and sign-off on an FOI request himself.

“Why is Steven Marshall hiding these documents?” he said.

“South Australians have a right to know about Steven Marshall’s interactions with mysterious Chinese businesswoman Sally Zou.”

Mr Marshall said he hadn’t seen Ms Zou for “several years” but he had met with her because she was a “business person who was very prominent in investing in South Australia”.

Asked if he had something to hide, Mr Marshall said: “Absolutely not”.

“FOI is covered by legislation – We cannot have a government or a personal interference in that FOI process and we’ve always followed the letter of the law in regards to that,” he said.

Ms Zou donated $32,000 to the Liberal Party in 2020/21 and $182,000 in the prior year.

The mining magnate sparked controversy just before the 2018 state election when she tweeted an image of a $1.2 million cheque for the SA Liberal Party while briefly establishing the Julie Bishop Glorious Foundation.

The $1.2 million donation was never made.

Ms Zou has been contacted for comment.