The Sarah Courtney scandal is taking on all the hallmarks of the controversy surrounding disgraced former Minister Adam Brooks.
Deputy Labor Leader Michelle O’Byrne said the Premier must reveal what protocols he has put in place to manage conflict of interest concerns surrounding Minister Courtney.
“Months on from promising to release protocols around Minister Courtney’s engagement with Government departments and senior public servants, the weak Premier continues to try to sweep this under the carpet and hope it goes away,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“This is the same path the Premier walked down when he put his head in the sand over the Adam Brooks saga.”
Despite the fact that Minister Courtney breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct over her relationship with Departmental Secretary Dr John Whittington, she will still be required to work with him as Minister, therefore there is potential for future decisions to be tarnished.
“The public needs to know what measures have been put in place to manage this situation to have confidence that Minister Courtney’s decision making processes aren’t being adversely influenced,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“Premier Hodgman has compounded the problem by refusing to be open and transparent about this whole scandal.
“Instead of tackling the problem head on, the Premier has arranged a situation which will only get worse and become untenable.
“The Premier has not learned from his mistakes when handling the Adam Brooks saga.
“In Minister Courtney the Premier has a second Minister who broke the rules and is heading in the same direction as the disgraced former Mining Minister, and he’s doing nothing about it.”
Michelle O’Byrne MP
Deputy Labor Leader
