Premier rejects fresh claims of misleading parliament
The Opposition says a controversial grants scheme wasn’t in the budget as the Premier Jeremy Rockliff claimed. See his frustrated response.
Tasmania
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PREMIER Jeremy Rockliff has spent a second day battling claims he misled state parliament about a controversial government grants scheme.
The government has defended the $14.9m Local Community Facilities Fund as the normal funding of promises made during last year’s election campaign.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Nic Street apologised to parliament on Tuesday for saying funding was detailed in the budget after it turned out more than a hundred grants were drawn from the Treasurers’ Reserve Fund — which is set aside for unforeseen events.
Some of the money was paid to organisation with links to Liberal candidates’ family members.
Mr Rockliff denied making the same mistake in answers he gave.
Labor leader Rebecca White said the source of the funds for the “dodgy” scheme was being obscured by the Premier are recently as Tuesday.
“You said — and I quote — ‘the fact is that the funding of some commitments prior to 30 June 2021 was transparent in the Budget papers for the 2020-21 financial year on page 42’,” Ms White said.
“There is no line item for the fund in the 2020-21 budget and nothing on page 42 either budget paper.
“In fact, the fund didn’t even exist at the time of the 2020-21 budget.
“Given the mounting number of blatantly false statements you’re making, can’t you see why Tasmanians think you’re involved in the cover up of dodgy Liberal Party grants?”
Mr Rockliff angrily rejected the claims.
“The opposition, on this last week of parliament, to come in with this muckraking, frankly, is outrageous,” he said.
“Tasmanians expect to be talking about the things that matter to Tasmania: housing, health. education. I’ll put my integrity above yours any day of the week, I’ll tell you that right now. “You come into this parliament with mistruths time and time again … it’s quite frankly disgraceful, it is disgusting that you use this place to this deliberately discredit members frankly it needs to stop.
“We took election commitments to the 2021 election. We won an election and we have delivered on our commitments and that’s what Tasmanians care about.”
‘Tasmanians owed an apology’: Premier grilled over grants
A Liberal minister has apologised for giving incorrect answers to a Parliamentary committee — but Labor has gone after Premier Jeremy Rockliff, claiming he committed the same offence.
Question Time in State Parliament was suspended on Tuesday for debate on a censure motion Opposition leader Rebecca White sought to move against Mr Rockliff.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Nic Street told this year’s Budget Estimates hearings on eleven separate occasions that pledges made under the $12.4m Local Community Facilities Fund were paid for out of the state budget.
But documents released under Right to Information laws last week revealed that more than a hundred, worth more than $2m, were drawn from the Treasurers’ Reserve Fund set aside for unforeseen events the year before.
Among the grants were payments to clubs associated with members of parliament and their families.
Mr Street apologised to the House at the beginning of Question Time.
“I would never knowingly misled parliament,” Mr Street said.
“Based on the advice I had at the time concerning the Local Community Facilities Fund, I incorrectly answered questions and made related statements asserting that all local community facilities fund projects were funded and listed in the 21/22 budget.”
Labor leader Rebecca White moved a censure motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff for misleading the House about the same matter on June 14.
“This premier is a premier who said he wants to lead a government of integrity — but here we have a stark example of a Premier failing to lead with integrity,” she said.
“We’ve seen some terrible things exposed about this government thanks to Right to Information laws, it’s not because they’re been transparent, quite the opposite.
“Misleading the parliament is a serious offence.”
She said Tasmanians were owed an apology.
Mr Rockliff said if he thought he had misled parliament he would of course apologise.
“This is a stunt, I will have nothing of it. If I thought I had mislead this place, I would of course apologise immediately, but I have no advice that I have.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the evidence was clear.
“It is plain, it is here in black and white you gave false information to the parliament,” she said.
“If the premier thinks this issue is going to go away, he is sorely mistaken.
“Every day we examine this Local Communities Facilities Fund, it gets smellier and smellier.”
Amid rowdy interjections, Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson emphatically rejected the premise of the motion.
“The Premier has absolutely nailed this as an attempted stunt by the Leader of the Opposition who cannot count, cannot manage money and cannot run her own party,” he said.
“Mr Street has quite honourably corrected the record of a mistake he has made.”
Leave to debate the motion was defeated by the casting vote of Speaker Mark Shelton.
Minister under fire over claims of ‘secret’ raid on reserve funds
A government minister has admitted giving incorrect evidence to a parliamentary committee — but he says he was poorly advised.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Nic Street told this year’s Budget Estimates hearings on eleven seperate occasions that pledges made under the $12.4m Local Community Facilities Fund were paid for out of the state budget.
But documents released under Right to Information laws revealed that more than a hundred, worth more than $2m, were drawn from the Treasurers’ Reserve Fund set aside the year before.
Mr Street said he had not intentionally given misleading information.
“I would never knowingly mislead Parliament,” he said in a statement.
“I provided incorrect answers to questions from Dr [Rosalie] Woodruff in the Estimates Committee earlier this year, based on the advice I had at the time.
“I will make a statement to the House at the earliest opportunity next week to correct the record.”
The section of the Financial Management Act which creates that fund says it is to be used for “expenditure, the need for which could not, in the opinion of the Treasurer, reasonably have been foreseen and which is necessary for efficient financial administration.”
Local Communities Facilities fund grants were made by the Liberal party through a scheme administered by the party itself prior to the 2021 state election.
Some of the money went to organisations with links to government MPs — including $150,000 for the Sandy Bay Rowing Club, where MP Madeleine Ogilvie’s daughter was a member and $45,000 was given to a football club where members of Lyons MP Mark Shelton’s family held roles including treasurer, kiosk manager and groundsman.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the fund had been used as an “electoral bribery scheme and had been funded in an unconventional and opaque fashion.
“We acknowledge Minister Street did not establish or administer the dodgy, secretive LCFF, and we recognise that the Minister may have been provided with incorrect information by his Department, resulting in these false statements,” she said earlier.
“That doesn’t mean he hasn’t misled the House, or that he is absolved of his responsibility under the standing orders to correct the record as soon as he is able to.”
Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing Guy Barnett said Mr Street had his confidence.
“We have every in confidence Nic Street to do the job. He’s done the job. It’s consistent with the promises made prior to the election, democracy at work, we’ve been elected, we’re implementing our promises,” he said.
“If there’s any way we can improve processes going forward as a government, I’m sure we will, because it’s part of our DNA. That’s the way we operate.”
Labor’s Ella Haddad said the government had avoided normal parliamentary scrutiny by not funding the grants through the budget in a way they could be scrutinsed by parliament.
“If the allocation of these grants was above board, the government would have gone through the Parliament for the funding, instead of secretly dipping into the Treasurer’s Reserve, which is designed for unforeseen urgent spending in times of need,” she said.
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