AUDITOR GENERAL —
SECTION 82 NOTIFICATIONS — METRONET
894. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Auditor General's
''Annual Report 2019–2020'', which states —
We
continue to encounter some difficulty accessing documents subject to claims of
public interest immunity, legal professional privilege or Cabinet
confidentiality
Why is the government being so
secretive, especially around Metronet, including the Metronet Taskforce?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I saw the news item on Channel
Seven on the weekend —
Ms L. Mettam: Last night.
Mr M. McGOWAN: Sorry?
Ms L. Mettam: Last night.
Mr M. McGOWAN: No. I saw it
on Sunday, post the Liberal Party state conference. Does the member remember
the Liberal Party state conference that six members attended? The Liberal Party
had a state conference on Sunday that six members of the Liberal Party
attended, and they were attacking Metronet. That is odd, because it is such a fantastic
project. Seven major projects are underway. In fact, eight major projects are
underway now across the metro area and we are upgrading the rail line to
Bunbury as we speak. All that activity is happening with thousands upon thousands of jobs. Yesterday, I was standing
there with the Minister for Transport and Steve Irons, the member for
Swan. Steve and I, jointly, were saying how great Metronet is. Steve Irons is
100 per cent on board. I must say that when
the Minister for Transport had a go at the state Liberal Party during the press
conference, Steve was standing there and looking a bit embarrassed by
the opposition's performance on these issues.
We are 100 per cent behind the best
capital works and transport project this state has ever seen. We are building
it. To undertake eight major projects at once has never been done before in any
state in Australia. It has never been done before. The projects are all over
the metro area and on the way to Bunbury. It has never been done before, but
this government is doing it. All we get from the Liberal Party is attack. All
it wants to do is undermine it. When the Liberal Party was in office, of
course, it promised twice to build a rail line to Ellenbrook but it did nothing
about it. The north eastern suburbs know that the Liberal Party did nothing,
despite promising them that it would do it. Then into the northern suburbs,
through Balcatta, Mirrabooka, Mt Lawley and Perth, the Liberals promised Metro Area Express light rail. People actually
went out and bought land on the basis of that. Investors bought land in
Mirrabooka on the basis that they would be able to invest around the MAX light
rail train stations. The Liberal Party misled people on it.
The Auditor General's report
found that in an overwhelming majority of cases it was entirely reasonable, for
commercial-in-confidence reasons, for information not to be released. That is
standard practice across all governments. That is what she found. The Liberal
Party has a tactic. Liberal members ask ridiculous questions on notice—the
questions are incomprehensible or obviously about commercial-in-confidence
information—and then a section 82 response is issued. They then say
that we are hiding information. They get a cheap media hit out of using that
strategy. That is a misuse of Parliament that they are engaging in. I repeat:
the Auditor General found that it was entirely reasonable for information to be
withheld in the interests of commercial-in-confidence in the vast majority of
cases she looked at.