Wednesday, 17 May 2023

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:20): (143) My question is again for the Minister for Water. Minister, on 15 December a ministerial staffer in your office emailed the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action with a simple statement entitled:

OFFICIAL-Sensitive: GOOD TO GO: OFFICIAL-Sensitive: FOR APPROVAL: Melbourne Water – Maribyrnong Flood Review –

with the following instructions:

… can you please add the bolded line into the release and web copy? Then it’s good to go. I have revised the release below in yellow/bold …

Minister, isn’t it a fact that this is active intervention by your office and is far more than being kept in the loop?

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Water, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy, Minister for Equality) (12:21): Thanks, Mr Davis. It looks like we are going another round. The answer is no.

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:21): Minister, I ask: didn’t you mislead the house on 8 February when you said, ‘The very nature of an independent review is that I am not part of this work’? The fact is your office intervened with this review and it was not independent.

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Water, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy, Minister for Equality) (12:22): No.