Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jenny Gale accused of being economical with the truth
Debate over the exact nature of a list naming 22 public servants has dominated proceedings in Parliament. But the premier says it is not what it seems.
Tasmania
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The head of the Tasmanian state service has been accused of being economical with the truth. Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jenny Gale told a Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday she was unaware of a list of 22 public servants at risk of adverse findings from the Commission of Inquiry.
But questions have been raised in parliament about the list, sent by the Commission to the government on April 26 this year, and to Ms Gale the following day.
It included the names of those given formal notice required under section 18 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act that they were facing potential allegations of misconduct.
Ms Gale repeatedly denied knowing who had received such notices.
“I’m not aware of who received section 18 notices as such. We have not been provided with a list of people who received section 18 notices,” she told parliamentary committee hearings on Tuesday.
Later she said: “What we do not have is a final list from the commission of inquiry of the individuals to whom section 18 notices were provided.
Secretary of the Department of Justice Ginna Webster gave evidence on Wednesday that said she had sent the list to Ms Gale the day after it was received.
“I would also like to be very clear the state’s lawyer advised the relevant heads of agency about their employees the following day, 27 April, noting we got the email at 6.30pm” she said.
“Heads of agency only received advice about their employees. The state’s lawyer — at my request — also sent advice about all the employees from all the agencies to the Head of the State Service the following day on the 27 April.”
A copy of the list, with names redacted, was tabled on Wednesday when Mr Rockliff and Ms Gale were in Canberra for a meeting of national cabinet.
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said the committee had been deliberately misled and she had no confidence in Ms Gale’s ability to lead the cultural change needed in government after the Commission’s revelations.
“The government has denied repeatedly that they had access to the information about people who may have received or may have been on a list of people who had section 18 notices” she said.
“It was the responses from the Attorney-General yesterday afternoon where we realised that what’s been going on is effectively continual tricky language by the Premier and especially by the head of the state service Jenny Gale.”
”What we heard from Ms Gale was repeatedly tricky language, almost calculatedly deceptive language, deliberately misleading the committee without actually saying a word that was untrue.
“She appeared to connive to lead the committee to understand that there was no information available and yet the next day that information was tabled by the Attorney-General.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the list was being misrepresented.
“The Commission of Inquiry did not provide to the state a final list of state servants who received section 18 notices, or state servants who were corresponded with about a potential section 18 notice, or state servants who responded to a section 18 notice and subsequently were advised the notice was withdrawn, nor were they obliged to tell us.
“What they did provide, as the head of the State Service advised on Tuesday, was an email with the names of state servants who had received or who may receive correspondence about section 18 notices.”
Labor leader Rebecca White said it was frustrating that the government appeared to be hiding behind semantics to avoid answering direct questions.
“The secretary at that point should have said ‘we received this list and I’ll table it now in the interest of full transparency to inform the committee’,” she said.
“But that didn’t happen, instead, we had an exchange across the table that was basically about how they could avoid sharing as much information as possible because as we’ve seen from this government that their natural instincts are to share as little information as they can get away with.”
Independent MLC Meg Webb said this week’s scrutiny hearings raised more questions than they answered,
“It is unacceptable, and highly offensive and cruel to victims-survivors and others who participated in the Commission in good faith, that after two days of scrutiny hearings, we have more ducking and weaving and unanswered questions regarding serious matters of potential misconduct than we have transparency and respectful answers.
“This would be grounds for the Assembly Select Committee to reconvene and recall the Premier and the DPAC Secretary, to answer these arising questions now that this pertinent information is in the public domain but which had been carefully kept behind closed doors until the Premier’s hearing was over.”
Independent MP Kristie Johnston said the Tasmanian public deserved better.
“The Premier should have apologised for his failure yet again to be honest, open and transparent but he did not take that opportunity this morning,” she said.
“His words are becoming more and more meaningless and it casts a dark shadow over the Government’s response to the COI.
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