Sunday Insight: Conduct unconvincing

MATT SMITH: There was talk Liberal MP Adam Brooks was looking forward to a showdown with Opposition Leader Bryan Green at Budget estimates hearings last week.

THERE was talk Liberal MP Adam Brooks was looking forward to a showdown with Opposition Leader Bryan Green at Budget estimates hearings last week.

Mr Brooks reportedly was keen to turn the tables on Mr Green, who had made the popular Liberal MHA look out of his depth during previous Budget estimates weeks.

Mr Brooks did not get his chance.

That chance may never come.

Instead, Mr Brooks found himself eyeballing Opposition treasury spokesman Scott Bacon, who no doubt was feeling confident following a strong showing during the week.

Mr Bacon’s confidence was contrasted by the Building and Contruction, Mining and Racing Minister’s struggle for answers.

At one stage, he took almost a minute to answer a simple question: “Were there any discussions at all with mining businesses while you were in China as parliamentary secretary?”

But it was his answers about a business email address that will go down in Tasmanian political history.

Mr Brooks was asked three times whether he had an email address associated with his company Maintenance Systems Solutions.

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He has employed someone to manage the company to avoid a conflict of interest in his portfolio.

On three occasions Mr Brooks said “No” — each time misleading Parliament.

His bumbling attempt to correct the record soon afterwards, arguing the email address was in fact for personal use, may very well be correct, but it was hardly convincing.

But don’t take my word for it — the video is on the Mercury website for all to see.

And it needs to be reiterated this was a very simple question asked three times.

Ministers do from time to time correct the record — but this is generally for mistakes they may have made within their broad portfolios.

Mr Brooks looked straight at Mr Bacon and said “No”.

Adam Brooks faces a Budget estimates committee last week. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Strangely, Premier Will Hodgman hadn’t bothered to look at the video — the performance of his minister — ­before he fronted the media on Friday afternoon to say that Mr Brooks would be stood down from his ministerial responsibilities while the Crown Solicitor undertook an audit of the email address.

It should be pointed out that Mr Bacon knew Mr Brooks used the email address because Mr Brooks volunteered it to him recently in order to deal with a constituent concern.

Why is he not using his Parliament-provided email address for such inquiries anyway?

Mr Hodgman took a leap of faith when he gave Mr Brooks four portfolios in February following the resignation of Paul Harriss.

In May last year, the Mercury revealed the then Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Trade was forced to apologise to Mr Hodgman and the Australian ambassador after he missed the start of an official function with the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

I am sure Mr Hodgman has expressed his disappointment with Mr Brooks.

But a serious question remains as to whether that will be enough.