❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about withholding legal invoices related to Griffin Coal from the Auditor General, citing legal professional privilege. The Premier defends the decision, emphasizing the need for confidentiality in legal and commercial matters while affirming commitment to transparency.
AnsweredQoN 522Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GRIFFIN COAL — LEGAL ADVICE
522. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
The Attorney General, when reading
in the Auditor General Amendment Bill 2022, which has failed to be proclaimed
after nearly two years of persistence, said —
� for the first time the Auditor
General will have an express right to access highly sensitive information,
including that which is subject to � legal professional privilege �
As highlighted in its twenty-third
report, Opinion on ministerial notification: Legal services provided to the
State Solicitor's Office , why is the Attorney General seeking to
hide legal invoices, which Western Australian taxpayers have paid, regarding
Griffin Coal from the state's Auditor General, citing legal
professional privilege?
522. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
The Attorney General, when reading
in the Auditor General Amendment Bill 2022, which has failed to be proclaimed
after nearly two years of persistence, said —
� for the first time the Auditor
General will have an express right to access highly sensitive information,
including that which is subject to � legal professional privilege �
As highlighted in its twenty-third
report, Opinion on ministerial notification: Legal services provided to the
State Solicitor's Office , why is the Attorney General seeking to
hide legal invoices, which Western Australian taxpayers have paid, regarding
Griffin Coal from the state's Auditor General, citing legal
professional privilege?
AnswerView source ↗
Before
I answer the question, can I say how delighted I was to join the Minister for
Sport and Recreation at Perth Airport last night to welcome home Western
Australian Olympians from Paris. It was great to be there with Charlie Senior,
Caitlin Parker and Nina Kennedy displaying, in some of their cases, their great
medals that they brought home from Paris. They did everyone proud. It just
shows that it does not matter whether someone is from Gosnells, Clarkson or
Busselton, they can be a world-leading athlete. I hope that they serve as an
inspiration to all young people who are looking to develop their skills in
sport. I thank them for being part of last night's celebration.
I thank the member for the question.
It provides us with ample opportunity to clarify the issues. I am sure the
member opposite is keen to seek that clarity. Perhaps if he were absolutely
keen, he would have simply asked the gentleman to my right, the Attorney General
himself, rather than going via me, but I am very happy to provide the member
with information on this matter. From time immemorial, it has been the
privilege of governments to have advice from the State Solicitor's
Office or outsourced legal advice and for that advice to be confidential. That
is why it is an important part of government. If that legal advice or
commercial-in-confidence information is made public, it simply breaks down the
whole capability of the government to negotiate, have agreements and navigate
issues of a legal nature.
The reason the documents that the
Auditor General sought were considered legally privileged is the contractor of
services detailed the information and the issues about which we were seeking
legal advice. It is for that reason that we could not disclose that
information. Obviously, that is very important in terms of navigating one of
the most legally and commercially complex issues that a government has had to
face in many years, which are the issues associated with Griffin Coal. It was
important that information remain confidential. Of course, we are committed to
transparency and accountability in my government. It is a cornerstone of what
we believe in. We are here to represent the people of Western Australia and,
where possible, it is appropriate that we take the opportunity to provide
information so they can hold us to account. It is the reality of any government
that certain matters are commercial-in-confidence or there is legally
privileged information and because of that we have to proceed.
We believe very strongly in the role
of the Auditor General. The Auditor General has to be able to undertake a role,
particularly to provide confidence to the people of Western Australia that we
are conducting ourselves in a manner that is appropriate in terms of commercial
competence and prudence and making sure that we manage our issues in relation
to legal matters in an appropriate way.
I answer the question, can I say how delighted I was to join the Minister for
Sport and Recreation at Perth Airport last night to welcome home Western
Australian Olympians from Paris. It was great to be there with Charlie Senior,
Caitlin Parker and Nina Kennedy displaying, in some of their cases, their great
medals that they brought home from Paris. They did everyone proud. It just
shows that it does not matter whether someone is from Gosnells, Clarkson or
Busselton, they can be a world-leading athlete. I hope that they serve as an
inspiration to all young people who are looking to develop their skills in
sport. I thank them for being part of last night's celebration.
I thank the member for the question.
It provides us with ample opportunity to clarify the issues. I am sure the
member opposite is keen to seek that clarity. Perhaps if he were absolutely
keen, he would have simply asked the gentleman to my right, the Attorney General
himself, rather than going via me, but I am very happy to provide the member
with information on this matter. From time immemorial, it has been the
privilege of governments to have advice from the State Solicitor's
Office or outsourced legal advice and for that advice to be confidential. That
is why it is an important part of government. If that legal advice or
commercial-in-confidence information is made public, it simply breaks down the
whole capability of the government to negotiate, have agreements and navigate
issues of a legal nature.
The reason the documents that the
Auditor General sought were considered legally privileged is the contractor of
services detailed the information and the issues about which we were seeking
legal advice. It is for that reason that we could not disclose that
information. Obviously, that is very important in terms of navigating one of
the most legally and commercially complex issues that a government has had to
face in many years, which are the issues associated with Griffin Coal. It was
important that information remain confidential. Of course, we are committed to
transparency and accountability in my government. It is a cornerstone of what
we believe in. We are here to represent the people of Western Australia and,
where possible, it is appropriate that we take the opportunity to provide
information so they can hold us to account. It is the reality of any government
that certain matters are commercial-in-confidence or there is legally
privileged information and because of that we have to proceed.
We believe very strongly in the role
of the Auditor General. The Auditor General has to be able to undertake a role,
particularly to provide confidence to the people of Western Australia that we
are conducting ourselves in a manner that is appropriate in terms of commercial
competence and prudence and making sure that we manage our issues in relation
to legal matters in an appropriate way.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.