Upper House vote for parliamentary oversight thrown out

A BID to hold a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into the Government’s coronavirus response has failed after Speaker Sue Hickey used her casting vote to block it.

Independent MLC Meg Webb’s motion in favour of the parliamentary Joint House Select Committee inquiry was passed by the Legislative Council on Wednesday night.

But the Government yesterday opposed the push in the House of Assembly.

Labor, the Greens and independent member Madeleine Ogilvie were in favour, and the final vote was tied 11-all.

Siding with the Government, Ms Hickey read from a prepared statement, saying she had confidence in the “significant scrutiny and accountability mechanisms that are already in place”.

“Another new select committee as per the Upper House motion would overlap the inquiry by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee and other existing processes,” she said.

Ms Webb said she was disappointed the opportunity had been lost.

“The Premier loudly proclaims his government has been the most transparent during this unprecedented crisis, but unfathomably he has chosen to undermine his own track record by denying a majority of the parliament to act upon its voted intent,” she said.

“To those who argue how much scrutiny is too much, I put to them that the actual question which needs asking is instead how much transparency is too much?”

During the debate, Premier Peter Gutwein said the inquiry was not necessary.

He said Parliament was providing additional scrutiny of the Government’s actions and he had appeared at dozens of press conferences.

“We have two standing committees that are inquiring into the response to the pandemic,” Mr Gutwein said.

“This is politically driven in my view, there is no need for it,” he said.

Labor Leader Rebecca White said she was disappointed. “Obviously, it’s disappointing that the government members chose not to support a parliamentary inquiry that did have the support of the majority of members in the Upper House and a number of members in the Lower House,” she said.

Greens Leader Cassy O’Connor said she could not remember a time when the House of Assembly had rejected an Upper House request for a motion, describing the result as “a stitch-up”.

“There should be an opportunity for people to make submissions to a joint select inquiry, for the inquiry to call for public presentations, and for experts and then the parliament to make a set of recommendations to government that acknowledges where we got it right, where we got it wrong, and make sure that we are extremely well prepared in the future,” she said.

David Killick, Political Editor The Mercury 5 June 2020:   Picture: Richard Jupe

More on Meg’s Motion to establish a Joint Select Committee to inquire into Tasmania’s COVID-19 response and recovery.

Recent media regarding Government Scrutiny 

Read Meg’s Letter to the Premier regarding the establishment of a Joint Select Committee