- The Privileges Committee is made up of three Labor members and two CLP members
- The only piece of ‘evidence’ that was considered was the Member for Blain’s statement, made on the 17th of February 2021
- Labor committee members voted to limit evidence, during the very first meeting
- The decision wasn’t supported by the Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Gerard Maley
- Labor members of the committee blocked the admission of highly relevant evidence including comments made in the media by the Chief Minister that contradict the Member for Blain’s statement
Shadow Minister for Women, Marie-Clare Boothby, says the Gunner Labor Government has stooped to shocking new lows to abuse the Parliamentary process, by using its numbers to quash a formal probe into the Member for Blain’s ‘dishonesty’.
“This inquiry was an absolute farce. The committee was dominated by Labor members who used their numbers to block crucial evidence and stamp out anything that resembles a legitimate inquiry.
“Labor committee members refused to consider any ‘evidence’ other than the Member for Blain’s statement made to the parliament – the very statement they were meant to assess for dishonesty.
“Labor committee members refused to call witnesses – including the Member for Blain, the Chief Minister or the woman involved in an intimate relationship with the Member for Blain.
“Labor committee members refused to consider transcripts, emails, text messages, or news articles as evidence.
“Labor committee members refused to allow a formal briefing from the ICAC Commissioner.
“Labor committee members refused to allow for public submissions or a public hearing.
“The committee’s final report, prepared by Committee Chair Natasha Fyles didn’t even mention the CLP member’s dissenting report, instead it was tacked onto the end as an attachment.
“This is a cover-up at the highest level.
“As the privileges committee minutes show, Labor members voted to limit the evidence to just the Member for Blain’s statement – at the very first committee meeting. How could the committee determine if the Member for Blain mislead Parliament if they didn’t look at a single scrap of evidence to the contrary?
“One of the key focuses of the committee was to determine whether the Member for Blain’s comments that he had the Chief Minister’s support in making his statement, on the 17th of February, was misleading after Michael Gunner told Mix104.9 that ‘We worked with him around the denial and just before he went into the Chamber to deliver the statement, he made what, in my opinion, were material changes to the statement that took out some very important denials.’
“Both of them can’t be telling the truth and it was the committee’s job to work out who lied.
“At the time the scandal was revealed, the Chief Minister labelled the Member for Blain’s behaviour as dishonest and said he was ousted from Labor’s parliamentary team because of a ‘profound lack of trust’.
“Yet, Labor members scuttled the privileges investigation into allegations the Member for Blain mislead Parliament – and Territorians – and continues to protect the disgraced MLA at all costs.
“Now the constituents of Blain are stuck with, by the Chief Minister’s own admission, a ‘dishonest’ and useless member representing them in Parliament.
“We know Labor is gearing up to bring the disgraced Member for Blain back into the fold. At the last sittings he asked a Dorothy Dixer to Government during Question Time – the first since the ‘Cocaine Sex’ scandal broke and this morning on Mix104.9 Labor Leader of Government Business Natasha Fyles refused to rule out his return to Caucus,” said Ms Boothby.
ENDS