Housing Minister Roger Jaensch accused of misleading parliament

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Housing Minister Roger Jaensch has been accused of misleading state parliament.

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HOUSING Minister Roger Jaensch has been accused of deliberately misleading parliament after saying he was not aware of plans to amend the laws covering evictions.

But a bid for a motion of no-confidence has failed.

In state parliament this morning, Mr Jaensch was asked by Greens leader Cassy O’Connor whether he was aware of a cabinet decision to amend tenancy laws to allow evictions without “genuine or just” cause.

“Can you confirm in response to that judgment a decision was made by you and the government to change the law – the Residential Tenancy Act – to make it easier to evict tenants without genuine or just reason?” she said.

Mr Jaensch replied: “I am not aware of any changes proposed or undertaken regarding making it more difficult...[interjection] I don’t know what decision Ms O’Connor might be referring to”

Ms O’Connor then produced a leaked cabinet minute which showed a decision to that effect was overturned by cabinet on August 24.

At the end of Question Time, Ms O’Connor moved a bid for a motion of no confidence and demanded the minister resign or be sacked.

“In response to questioning … the Minister said he was not aware of any decision to evict tenants without genuine or just reasons,’ she said.

“It is implausible that the Minister was not aware of a cabinet decision in his portfolio.

“The Minister has mislead the house.

“That is a most serious offence for a Minister of the Crown. The default position was to lie.”

Ms O’Connor said Mr Jaensch had also breached the ministerial code of conduct and should resign or be sacked.

“When you lie in this place, you are not just lying to the parliament, you are lying to the people of Tasmania.”

Mr Jaensch later explained that a cabinet decision had no effect until it came to the parliament, and he could not breach cabinet confidence.

Premier Peter Gutwein described the bid for a no-confidence motion — which was defeated — as a stunt.

“The government won’t discuss the deliberations it makes in cabinet,” he said.

“When a decision is made to change the law a bill will be tabled in this place and no bill has been tabled in this place.

“The member who raised this question knows full well the processes of cabinet.

He described Mr Jaensch as hard-working, decent, honest and a man of integrity.

Leader of government business Michael Ferguson said Mr Jaensch had promised to review his response update his answer and asked that he be afforded “natural justice”.

“The Minister and his team are currently engaged in reviewing the nature of the question asked by Ms O’Connor and the words that he said in response,” he said.

He said the government would not support a bid for leave to suspend parliamentary business for a motion of no confidence and described Mr Jaensch as an exceptional minister.

“If Mr Jaesnch needs to amend his answer he will do so,” he said.

Labor leader Rebecca White. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Labor’s Rebecca White described the government’s defence of the minister as “woeful”.

“He’s been caught out today. He misled the parliament and he didn’t correct the record at the first available opportunity,” she said.

The change to tenancy laws was deemed necessary by the government after the Supreme Court ruled against a Housing Tasmania bid to evict a 55-year-old intellectually disabled man from him home.

The Standing Orders of state parliament require MPs to be honest.

“A Member must not mislead parliament or the public in statements that they may make,” they say.

“Whether any misleading was intentional or unintentional a Member is obliged to correct the Parliamentary record or the public record, at the earliest opportunity in a manner that is appropriate to the circumstances.”

Convention under the Westminster system requires that ministers resign or be sacked after seriously and deliberately misleading parliament.

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