ADJOURNMENT

Mr WILKIE (Clark) (19:30): The Tasmanian Liberal government is in crisis, not a political crisis of the kind that passes in a news cycle but a crisis of integrity, the kind that corrodes public trust slowly and leaves lasting damage long after the ministers responsible have quietly exited stage left. Indeed, in all my days I haven't seen a government at state or federal level as dodgy as this Tasmanian government.

Let me set out the facts for you because the facts speak for themselves. In the last month, two cabinet ministers have resigned because of grave breaches of public trust. Madeleine Ogilvie resigned after intentionally misleading parliament by claiming she was not party to any court case, and it was only after sustained questioning that she finally admitted that she had in fact brought a Supreme Court action.

She defended her lie by saying she erred while attempting to navigate a suppression order, and the cost to the taxpayer was about $120,000. In the following weeks, Jane Howlett resigned after evidence emerged that her office was aware of campaign texts sent in breach of conventions, when she had previously claimed no knowledge of such matters. Her legal fees cost $405,000, and who picked up the tab?

You guessed it, Speaker; it was the taxpayer again. So that's more than half a million dollars of public money—and on what? Well, the Premier has confirmed both matters relate to court disputes with Tasmania's own Integrity Commission.

Let that sink in. Tasmanian ministers used Tasmanian taxpayers' money to fight Tasmania's integrity watchdog in court—in secret—while lying to parliament that any such proceedings existed. When that money is added to the $317,000 the Integrity Commission has spent on legal costs for its investigations since 2022-23, that's nearly $1 million of taxpayers' money down the gurgler.

I want to be mindful not to overstate what we know, because suppression orders mean the full picture remains hidden from the public. But what is obvious is the deeply troubling conduct of the Liberal government, its ministers and the Premier. In fact, Premier Jeremy Rockliff has become the first Tasmanian Premier in history to be censured by the state parliament.

The censure motion, which passed on 17 June, found he failed to uphold the ministerial code of conduct in relation to both ministers, failed to ensure Ms Ogilvie corrected the misleading record when he became aware of it and failed to answer basic questions. His response? These were complex matters, and he could not comment further.

That's not leadership; it's concealment dressed up as a caution. Similarly, the Premier's claims that the criticism amounts to 'personal attacks' make a complete mockery of the whole situation. What makes this worse—just when we thought they couldn't stoop any lower—was that, under intense pressure, the government finally tabled their long-awaited reforms to the Integrity Commission Act.

But there was one glaring difference between their 2025 consultation draft and the bill that was presented to parliament, and that is the removal of changes regarding the right to silence, which allows public officers under investigation to refuse to give information or evidence. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up. Moreover, independent experts have examined that legislation closely and found it wanting.

Indeed, the Centre for Public Integrity has warned the proposed reforms largely amount to technical changes that leave major structural weaknesses unresolved, including chronic underfunding of the Integrity Commission; the limited ability to investigate misconduct involving third parties; accountability gaps involving MPs during election periods, when parliament is dissolved; weak appointment processes for commissioners; and ongoing barriers to investigating MPs where parliamentary privilege is asserted.

In other words, the government has spent half a million dollars fighting its integrity watchdog and is now putting forward integrity reforms which experts say don't fix the fundamental problems. Some might call that ironic; I call that a pattern. Tasmania's Integrity Commission has never held a public hearing.

It cannot investigate politicians' conduct during election campaigns, its budget is the second-lowest per capita of any state or territory commission and it has referred only two people for prosecution, which is the lowest rate of any state. This is simply not good enough. Tasmanians want and deserve so much more.

We can have so much more. I call on the Tasmanian government and parliament to achieve so much more.