Government secrecy had no place in this debate
I had the privilege of tabling a petition on Tuesday 9 May 2023, calling on the Premier (at the time, Premier McGowan) to release his secret advice on the ‘Voice’.
This petition was then immediately referred to a parliamentary committee for investigation.
Even though Mr McGowan had since resigned as Premier of Western Australia, it was important that this matter was investigated by this parliamentary committee because changing the Australian Constitution is a big deal.
For our country to have a genuine debate on the Voice, we should have all been entitled to the same information.
That’s why I asked the then Premier this question in Parliament:
“So that all Western Australians might be privy to the same level of detail about the proposed constitutional amendment before making their decision, will the Premier table the last briefing note he received about the Voice prior to making his public declaration of support?”
The result? An evasive “answer” that kept the advice secret.
The result? Another evasive “answer” that kept the Premier’s secret advice under lock and key.
How could all Western Australians make a fully informed decision regarding an issue if the Government kept critical information hidden?
A responsible government would treat every citizen fairly so that they can make an informed choice.
This is all the more important given the nature of the concerns that were raised by many fair-minded Australians.
Take, for example, Terence Cole, a former Judge of the NSW Court of Appeal who wrote:
“In considering the Voice proposal, the first and central question is whether we wish to consider Australia in the future as one peoples, with each having the same rights, obligations, and opportunities. Or do we wish to consider Australia as a number of siloed groups, with one or more groups having a different status, different rights, and different privileges?”
Government secrecy had no place in this debate.
I was concerned that Mr McGowan resigned midway during this parliamentary investigation.
Nevertheless on 7 June 2023, I lodged a preliminary submission to the parliamentary committee conducting the investigation.
WA Labor had changed the Premier of our State but that shift did not create a shield from governmental accountability to Parliament.
Accordingly on Tuesday 13 June 2023, I asked Premier Cook if he would release the secret advice Mark McGowan had refused to reveal on ‘the Voice’.
The answer was disconcerting and revealed that the legacy of gold-standard secrecy continues.