Media Release: Did Tatarka Inquiry Report Recommend any Repayment of Taxpayer-Funded Legal Fees Paid for Public Servants Before the Commission of Inquiry?
Did Tatarka Inquiry Report Recommend any Repayment of Taxpayer- Funded Legal Fees Paid for Public Servants Before the Commission of Inquiry?
18 March 2025
Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb said today confirmation the State Government has received the final report of the independent Tatarka Review of the legal fees paid for 26 current and former public servants, exposes the government’s lack of transparency, and raises further urgent questions over whether any of that public money was recommended to be repaid.
“The Rockliff Government secrecy over this inquiry is unacceptable, and reeks of there being something they want to hide,” Ms Webb said.
“Now we have confirmation the independent Tatarka Inquiry report has been provided to government, the Attorney-General must answer when he received it, particularly in light of former statements to parliament he expected the report by December last year.”
Ms Webb asked whether the Review recommended any repayment of publicly funded legal fees for those public servants subject to findings by the Commission of Inquiry.
“Did the government have the Tatarka Inquiry Report at any time during the last two Assembly sitting weeks?
“If so, why wasn’t Parliament provided an update on the state of the Tatarka Review report during those two sitting weeks?
“Is the secrecy and failure to provide parliament a timely update over the last fortnight due to the fact the government doesn’t like the report’s findings?
“This secretive government failed to volunteer a public update, but instead have had to have this information dragged out of them which does not inspire trust or confidence.
“I am concerned the government was trying to buy time by keeping this report secret to find legal loop-holes to justify releasing as little of the final report as possible, if any.”
Ms Webb called on the Attorney-General to front up.
“Guy Barnett must clarify when he received this important report, whether it recommended any of the 26 public servants should pay back any legal fees paid by the public purse and when the report will be released publicly.”
Mr Sam Tatarka OAM was appointed independent reviewer on 18 December 2023 due to community concern that public money may have been used to fund the legal fees of state servants subject to findings by the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.
