Around half a million taxpayer dollars paying for Liberal MPs’ lawyers. Zero answers. It’s a very poor return on a questionable investment for the Tasmanian people.
Whatever the reason for the government not explaining this situation, the result for Tasmanians – who paid these legal costs – is unacceptable.
The Greens have serious questions over whether the decisions to provide these payments were appropriate. We’re concerned Liberal Ministers decided to give their colleagues a helping hand and thought nobody would ever find out. After all, it’s taken years of meticulous work by us to extract this information from a very reluctant government.
One crucial question is – have these payments been made within the government’s own legal assistance guidelines? Another is, are the guidelines even up to scratch?
If the Liberals really can’t tell Tasmanians what’s going on, we need another way to understand whether their actions have been above board. That’s why the Greens are calling for the Premier to appoint an independent legal expert to examine all MP legal fees covered by the taxpayer and to review the rules for providing legal assistance.
Appointing someone whose reputation, experience, and skills are beyond reproach to take a close look at these matters may be the only way the public can have any confidence that their money is being spent appropriately. If the Rockliff Government has nothing to hide, they’ll have no hesitation in supporting this common-sense and responsible move.
