Question – Status of the Commission of Inquiry’s Website and Records
The Hon. Meg Webb MLC asked the following question without notice on 11 June 2024 to the Honourable Leader of the Government. The response was formally delivered by the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, Hon. Leonie Hiscutt MLC, on the 18th of June 2024.
Text of Questions Asked by Meg:
Question
18 June 2024
[2.30 p.m.]
Regarding the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings, can the government please advise the following:
(1) Given that the government has already stated that only one of the 43 criminal referrals made by the Commission of Inquiry remain open, and only one is before the courts, why are so many transcripts and statements still missing from the Commission of Inquiry website?; and
(2) When is it expected that the comprehensive archive of documents originally uploaded by the Commission of Inquiry will be restored fully, with these transcripts and statement documents which were previously publicly available reinstated on the public website?
Response
18 June 2024
Mr President, before I deliver this answer, I would like to alert members I have a new person working in my office, Ms Karen Shirley, who will be taking care of the questions and relieving the burden on my other advisers. Thank you for joining us.
In response to your question, the content of the commission’s website is determined by the commission itself.
The commission has clearly indicated that it did not want its website changed following the end of its work. The commission states on the website, and I quote: (TBC 2.32.18) The Commission expects no changes will be made to this website, apart from the addition of the report when it is published, an easy read guide to the report, and an animation.
The commission did not advise the government of what material it intended to remove or withhold from its website, or its reasons for doing so.
However, it is important to note the criminal proceedings are not the only reason the commission may have determined to remove or not publish material on its website. For example, material could be captured by section 194K of the Evidence Act 2001.
Material could contain information that a victim/survivor has withdrawn their consent to be published. Material could be could prejudice a current civil proceeding, or have been removed or withheld by the commission for other reasons, including the issuance of restricted
publication orders that are indefinite in application.
Again, we emphasise that these decisions are for the commission, not the state.
Question Without Notice – Commission of Inquiry Records: Supplementary
18 June 2024
[2.33 p.m.]
Ms WEBB (Nelson) – I thank the Leader for the response provided dated 13 June. However, I need to seek further clarification in light of this response, because it may not be complete or possibly be inaccurate.
In light of the government’s response stating the commission has clearly indicated you did not want its website changed following the end of its work, how does the government explain the fact it appears changes or updates have been made to the commission of inquiry website since the commission reported to the Governor on 31 August 2023.
Specifically, in light of the Premier’s response provided by the Leader, can the government now explain:
- Why the Hearings transcripts webpage states it was updated on 5th of March this year?;
- Detail what updates were made on the 5th of March this year, and why?;
- Detail who was authorised to make those updates?; and
- Clarify whether any other updates or changes to the website have in fact occurred since 31 August 2023?
I will send that through but I wanted to have it on the record here today
The formal response to Ms Webb’s Supplementary Question will be posted below once received.
A pdf of the Question Without Notice can be read below:
See more of Meg’s Questions to Parliament.
