PERTH CASINO ROYAL
COMMISSION — HON NEVILLE OWEN
27. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the revelation that Hon
Neville Owen emailed the Solicitor-General on 17 February 2021 expressing
interest in being appointed to the inquiry into the operations of Crown Casino
Perth.
(1) Is the
Attorney General aware that in response, the State Solicitor's Office
emailed Mr Owen on 23 February requesting a meeting the following day?
(2) Did that meeting take place?
(3) If yes to (2), who attended?
(4) When was the Attorney General
first aware that such a meeting had taken place?
(5) Given that The
West Australian reported on the evening of 23 February 2021 that Mr Owen
was in the running to lead this integrity inquiry, can the Attorney General
give the house an assurance that neither the Attorney General nor any of his
ministerial staff disclosed this information prior to the meeting on 24 February
2021?
Hon
MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question.
I provide the following response on
behalf of the Attorney General.
(1)–(3) I
am aware that the State Solicitor's Office contacted Mr Owen on 23
February 2021 to arrange a meeting the following day between Mr Owen, the State
Solicitor and Ms Marla Dharmananda, who is an employee at the State Solicitor's
Office.
(4)–(5) I
was made aware after the meeting occurred and am unaware of the basis of media
reports.