Coronavirus: Legal battle to open national cabinet
Legal action has been launched against Scott Morrison’s attempts to keep national cabinet discussions secret.
Legal action has been launched against Scott Morrison’s attempts to keep national cabinet discussions secret, as Senate crossbencher Rex Patrick tries to force the country’s political leaders to make their deliberations more transparent.
The independent South Australian senator appealed to Information Commissioner Angelene Falk after two Freedom of Information requests for minutes of national cabinet’s first meeting and information relating to its rules and procedures were knocked back.
The commissioner’s delegate said the matter should be decided by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, noting it would likely require evidence from the cabinet office and possibly from the Prime Minister as well.
Senator Patrick lodged a case against the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in the AAT on Saturday.
“This is a very important matter of transparency,” he said.
“The Prime Minister has sought to expand secrecy right across what was traditionally COAG, and that’s not healthy for democracy and it has to be challenged. We have an absurd situation where a meeting of doctors, that is the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, is considered a meeting of cabinet.
“In that instance, the public is entitled to see what medical advice is being considered in relation to things like hotspots, border closures, lockdowns and exiting lock downs.”
Mr Morrison has made national cabinet, the AHPPC — comprising commonwealth and state chief medical officers — and the National COVID-19 Commission committees of cabinet, meaning their deliberations, papers and outcomes are considered cabinet-in-confidence. The Department of Health also has refused to outline high-level decisions on domestic border closures by the AHPPC, citing the cabinet-in-confidence provision.
A PM&C spokesman said all national cabinet members agreed it should be established under commonwealth cabinet guidelines. “It is a longstanding practice that deliberations of the cabinet and its committees should be able to be conducted confidentially so as to preserve the freedom of deliberations of this body,” the spokesman said.