Families and Communities Minister Jennifer Rankine had bungled again in her increasingly desperate attempt to conceal the names of all 21 staff in her taxpayer funded Ministerial office.
After being questioned on radio station 5AA this afternoon by Mike Smithson, Ms Rankine indicated she was prepared to show the list of her 21 staff to Mr Smithson:
“…I would be more than happy for you [Mike Smithson] to come in here and meet my staff, look at the list…”
“However, none of Ms Rankine’s staff told her that there is no provision under the Freedom of Information legislation which provides for the selective release of a document to only those people approved by the Minister,” Shadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas said today.
“In fact, it beggars belief that none of Ms Rankine’s 21 staff informed her about these FOI provisions.
“Put simply, Ms Rankine can’t claim confidentiality on the grounds of public safety to prevent release of the list to the State Liberals and then argue she is happy to release the same document to a journalist.
“Only Ms Rankine can explain why she is fighting so hard to prevent the release of the name of the second media/communications “Spin Doctor” appointed to her office.
“The processes under the FOI legislation require an internal appeal against this decision back to Ms Rankine.
“However, if Ms Rankine continues to oppose the release of the list, it is hard to envisage how an appeal to the independent Ombudsman would be anything other than successful.
“It will be yet another significant embarrassment to Ms Rankine if the independent Ombudsman forces her to release the list of her 21 staff after her bungles on radio.”