The Greens welcome Jeremy Rockliff finally providing some straight answers over the Madeleine Ogilvie matter – even if he was dragged there kicking, screaming and stonewalling. The problem, is those answers paint a far worse picture of this shameful saga and his role in it.
The Premier’s letter reveals at a minimum his office played a central role in covering up that Madeleine Ogilvie had misled Parliament, and her secret court case itself. It shows the Premier himself then tried to cover up that cover up. Ultimately even as the truth was exposed, attempts were made to minimise the issue and avoid accountability.
Each of these facts is outrageous on its own. Together it’s a scandal.
The Greens remain sceptical what we have been provided is the whole truth.
The response admits Premier Rockliff’s office was aware Ms Ogilvie misled Parliament at the time she did so. The appropriate action under those circumstances would have been for the then-Minister to have returned to the Estimates table, apologised, and corrected the record factually. This is the example set by other Ministers.
Instead of ensuring the truth was provided, the Premier’s office oversaw the process of Ms Ogilvie stealthily tabling a written ‘clarification’ at the very end of the week. That statement was dishonest, did nothing to correct her misleading statement, and was cynically designed to ensure her Supreme Court matter remained secret – all part of the cover up.
The Premier would have us believe that despite his office being involved in efforts to cover up Ms Ogilvie misleading Parliament and her court case, and despite knowing within a week that this misleading statement had been made, he was completely unaware of the fact of her subsequent response and whether it was appropriate.
Given the facts that have now been revealed, plus everything else we’ve seen from Jeremy Rockliff on this issue, it’s difficult to believe the Premier’s version of events. The Greens are sceptical we are getting the whole truth even now. But even the story the Premier wants us to believe is deeply problematic.
The Premier knew one of his Ministers misled Parliament but did not try to find out more about it or act to make sure the record was set straight. This is a determined abrogation of his responsibilities as Premier and under the Ministerial Code of Conduct. And apparently both his Minister and his office withheld critical information about this matter from him, but when he found out in May he left it to the Greens to follow up twice more before anyone was held accountable.
While this is all serious enough, there is also a major problem with the way the Premier has handled – or mishandled – this matter since the Greens brought it to light.
In finding out Madeleine Ogilvie had misled Parliament and his office was involved in covering up both this fact and Ms Ogilvie’s Supreme Court case, the Premier should have immediately come clean with a full account of what had occurred. Instead, he himself then shamelessly tried to cover up the cover up.
Jeremy Rockliff refused to answer dozens of questions in Estimates about who knew what and when in this matter. He did so under the guise of there being legal barriers to doing so. In telling both the House and Legislative Council he was “unable to comment”, he heavily implied he was following legal advice.
The Premier has now admitted he didn’t have any legal advice to support the approach he took in Estimates. In other words, it was entirely a political decision to stonewall dozens of questions and to dishonestly pretend he couldn’t possibly do anything else. He simply did not want more of the truth to come out. The truth – or more of it – has only come to light now after a fortnight of extreme pressure from the minority Parliament.
Disturbingly, Jeremy Rockliff’s approach to Estimates isn’t the only issue with the recent handling of this situation.
The Premier has now admitted that in the days following 21 May he became aware of the contents of the ‘clarification’ made by Madeleine Ogilvie in November. He also admitted his office “had input” into the statement the then-Minister made to Parliament when she finally acknowledged the existence of her Supreme Court case. That was a statement that attempted to help Ms Ogilvie avoid accountability.
Jeremy Rockliff wants us to believe he failed in his fundamental duties as Premier by not looking into this issue in November, and that he wilfully remained in the dark until the Greens raised it again in May.
The Premier’s account raises more questions. Even if it were true, why didn’t he then immediately sack his Minister – for misleading Parliament and for not being honest with him? Why instead of ensuring accountability did his office try to help the Minister avoid it?
When other Liberal Ministers have realised they’ve misled Parliament, at the first opportunity they acknowledged the information they have provided was incorrect, offered the correct information, and apologised. In an attempt to save face, Madeleine Ogilvie – with input from the Premier’s office – instead tried to pretend there was no issue because she’d previously made a ‘clarification’. It was only after a majority of the Parliament had (both publicly and privately) demanded her resignation that she finally lost her position.
From the beginning of this saga until now, Premier Rockliff and his government have been motivated by one thing and one thing only: to protect themselves by covering up as much of the truth as possible.
It’s only through the Greens doggedly pursuing this matter that Tasmanians are any wiser about the many hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the legal costs of Liberal MPs; about a Minister misleading Parliament; about a previously secret Supreme Court case; and about the role the Premier and his office have played in all of it.
This entire scandal, and every element of it, is an indictment on the Premier and this government. The Greens will now be discussing the most appropriate parliamentary response with our colleagues across both Houses.
