Premier Steven Marshall vows to hand Auditor General Cabinet documents on Adelaide Oval hotel

Cabinet documents relating to the controversial Adelaide Oval hotel will be released to the state’s financial watchdog if requested, Premier Steven Marshall has vowed.

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Cabinet documents relating to the controversial Adelaide Oval hotel will be released to the state’s financial watchdog if requested, Premier Steven Marshall has vowed.

But legal advice about whether the project meets laws governing the Oval and surrounding Parklands will remain secret, following a report on the project by the Auditor-General.

Premier Steven Marshall

In his first report of 2019 into the Adelaide Oval redevelopment, Auditor-General Andrew Richardson confirmed no taxpayer funds had been spent on the hotel as of the end of last year.

Legislation governing the Oval mandates that no more than $535 million be spent on the development until December 1 this year.

Mr Richardson found $534.05 million had been spent to the end of 2018, meaning just $950,000 more can be spent.

The Auditor-General said in his report that he had been denied access to Cabinet documents “that may have provided additional information” when he asked a Government department for them.

But he said he had not yet asked Cabinet directly and would do so before preparing his second report of 2019.

Mr Marshall, pictured, said he was “committed to much greater transparency than the former Labor government who were addicted to secrecy and cover ups” and would release the documents if requested.

“If the Auditor-General requests access to Cabinet documents going forward he will be provided with them,” he said.

An artists’ impression of the proposed Adelaide Oval hotel.Picture: SCAP

However, Mr Richardson will not be allowed to see a legal opinion that was obtained by a Government department regarding whether the hotel meets Adelaide Oval and Parklands laws, even if he requests it.

He was initially denied access to it by the department on the basis it was a Cabinet record, but the Government said it would not be released, even if requested, as it was legal advice.

Former premier Jay Weatherill changed rules around access to Cabinet documents so that Mr Richardson and other inquiry agencies, including the Independent Commission Against Corruption, no longer had automatic access to them.