Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was evasive when facing media questions today on her refusal to provide documents on her dodgy mobile black spot funding.
The Information Commissioner has ordered a review into the Minister’s refusal to provide documents on her hand-picking of Labor seats to benefit from improved mobile coverage.
On ABC Radio National this morning, the Minister faced a series of probing questions, including:
“Why won’t you make the relevant documents available?”; and
“How can you say it’s open and transparent if you won’t release the relevant documents?”
The Minister failed to attempt to properly answer any of these questions.
This mirrors her approach when responding to my request for documents between the Minister and her staff on her decisions which saw 74% of grants in Round 6 of the Mobile Black Spot Program going to Labor-held seats.
Once again, we are seeing answers from the Minister on FOI transparency going missing in a mobile black spot of her own creation.
Once again, the Minister is avoiding questions on transparency and accountability relating to the use of taxpayer dollars.
It is no wonder that both the Information Commissioner and the Auditor-General have both put this issue on their radars.
Australians deserve full answers on the dodgy Round 6 of the Mobile Black Spot Program. That’s why investigations by the Information Commissioner and Auditor General are so important.
The Hon. David Coleman MP
Federal Member for Banks
Shadow Minister for Communications