CORRUPTION AND CRIME
COMMISSIONER — REAPPOINTMENT
547. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the Leader of the House representing the Attorney General:
My question without notice is asked
on behalf of Hon Michael Mischin.
I refer to the Attorney General's
partial answer to question without notice 501 on 21 May 2020 regarding his
dealings with Mr Matthew Hughes, MLA, over the reappointment of Hon John
McKechnie as Corruption and Crime Commissioner.
(1) Can the
minister identify specifically the date and time of each and every occasion on
which the Attorney General and Mr Hughes spoke about the reappointment of Mr McKechnie
and precisely what was said on each occasion?
(2) Did Mr Hughes
discuss or intimate to the Attorney General before his Facebook post of 16 April
2020, that he had in mind being publicly critical of the Joint Standing
Committee on the Corruption and Crime Commission or any member of it; and, if
so, on what date or dates and in what terms?
(3) Did the
Attorney General assure Mr Hughes that if he did criticise the government or
any member thereof, he would have the support of the government; and, if so,
precisely when and on what terms?
(4) Notwithstanding
that the Attorney General claims that the advice to Mr Hughes was not to
divulge any deliberations of the joint standing committee, precisely what did
Mr Hughes say to him?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Refer to the answer to question
without notice 501.
(2) No.
(3) Refer to question without notice
501.
(4) It is
common for members of political parties to discuss forthcoming motions or
debates in Parliament. These are typically
informal discussions and, in the absence of any notes, transcript or minutes,
the precision requested by the member cannot be given.