Premier Jeremy Rockliff knew Madeleine Ogilvie misled Parliament but did nothing about it.
That is the only conclusion anyone watching the Premier’s shameless appearance in Budget Estimates could draw.
Under Estimates’ scrutiny across four hours, the Premier refused to answer dozens of the most basic questions about what he knew and when about Madeleine Ogilvie’s matter. It was an unprecedented performance in stonewalling, even for this government.
The Greens told the Premier his lack of answers had led us to conclude he knew his Minister had misled Parliament. We asked him to disavow us of that conclusion. He would not do that.
It is obvious the Premier knew he could not answer any of these questions without incriminating himself. Any honest answer would have demonstrated he knew his Minister had misled.
When Premier Rockliff found out Madeleine Ogilvie had misled Parliament, he should have insisted on her resignation. Instead, he sat on his hands and hoped nobody would find out. Without the Greens questioning Ms Ogilvie recently, he might have been lucky.
The Premier should have shown the integrity and honesty Tasmanians expect, but he refused and pled the fifth. Unfortunately for him, his silence spoke for itself.
This is a cover-up by the Premier, plain and simple.
