Burn after reading
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised to do better on transparency. But this week’s Senate estimates showed how far his government is from that goal.
Nothing illustrated the government’s transparency problems at this week’s Senate estimates more sharply than a moment provided by APS Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer.
De Brouwer had just explained that bureaucrats occasionally give advice to ministers on sticky notes — which then disappear — when the implications of his comment appeared to dawn on him.
“That’s illegal,” independent Senator David Pocock replied.
When Liberal frontbencher James Paterson picked up the attack, de Brouwer insisted that he didn't think “the sticky notes themselves are illegal”.
“But failing to keep records is,” Paterson replied.
“Yeah, but no … uh … I take that, Senator. I um, um, I, I understand that,” de Brouwer stammered, before insisting he had never personally done so.
