Scott Oz

Today, we launched our Open Cabinet Policy One Nation will introduce Open Cabinet legislation requiring the release of Cabinet documents from previous Labor and Liberal governments as part of an effort to restore public trust. Party leader Warren Pickering said the most damaging decisions of the Andrews and Allan Labor governments had been made in the dark. “One Nation is going to turn on the lights,” Mr Pickering said. “This secrecy was no accident. It was calculated and deliberate, creating an environment in which Labor’s corruption and incompetence thrived. “Victorians are still living with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and quarantine failures, the ballooning cost of the Big Build, the explosion of state debt and a long string of integrity scandals. “Our state became a laughing stock when Labor spent $589 million of taxpayers’ money cancelling the Commonwealth Games, a figure the Auditor-General called ‘overstated and not transparent’. When the Upper House asked for the documents, Labor refused to hand them over. Meanwhile, IBAC and the Ombudsman found Labor MPs using taxpayer-funded staff to stack party branches. “Labor locked Victorians in their homes for 262 days, longer than any city on earth. They put Melbourne under curfew and told us it was health advice. We now know it wasn’t. Their own public health commander wrote that the curfew ‘has not arisen from public health advice’ and was ‘a decision taken by Cabinet’. Getting that one email out of them took four and a half years and a fight in the Court of Appeal. “Cabinet documents from that era remain locked away for decades – Victorians cannot see the advice or options presented to Cabinet, or the deliberations which led to these horrendous outcomes. When decisions never see daylight there is no real accountability, no pressure to get it right, and every incentive to hide cost blow-outs, protect mates and cover mistakes. That’s exactly what happened under Labor. “Trust in government in Victoria is utterly broken.” Mr Pickering said within its first 100 days a One Nation government would introduce legislation requiring the release of Cabinet submissions, decisions, agendas, minutes and related papers from the previous Labor and Liberal governments. Priority would be given to documents of critical public interest relating to the pandemic response, hotel quarantine, the Big Build and major projects, fiscal strategy and debt, and integrity matters. The first tranche of documents would be released within six months, with complete release within 18 months. “There will be independent oversight and clear appeal rights,” he said. “Redactions will be applied narrowly; every single one will be independently reviewed, and must be justified. Documents will be published on a searchable public portal. “Going forward, a One Nation government will adopt a model similar to that used in Queensland and New Zealand. Cabinet submissions, decisions and attachments will be published within 30 business days. “An ethical democratic government does not fear transparency, scrutiny and accountability. An ethical democratic government embraces these principles.” END