Source : Perth Now news
The Tasmanian premier is refusing to offer details of a secret court case that has led to the resignation of his environment minister.
Madeleine Ogilvie resigned from cabinet on Saturday, months after wrongly telling parliament she was not party to any court cases.
After sustained questioning from the Greens, last week she finally admitted she had in fact brought a Supreme Court action, saying she erred while attempting to navigate a suppression order.
“I apologise for answering the original question poorly,” she said.
The details of the case are unknown, including the subject matter, the opposing party, and the timeline.
However, the government has disclosed taxpayers had spent around $120,000 on Ms Ogilvie’s legal fees between 2023 and 2025.
At budget estimates on Monday morning, with Ms Ogilvie not present, Premier Jeremy Rockliff found himself in the hot seat to provide responses.
He was not forthcoming, despite sustained interrogations from Opposition Leader Josh Willie and Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff.
“These are complex matters and I’m not going to be commenting any further … especially given the confidentiality requirements,” he said.
“Ms Ogilvie has given an undertaking as other members have to provide full details when Ms Ogilvie is legally entitled to.”
The pair both attempted to draw Mr Rockliff’s leadership and judgment into the question, asking him when he became aware of the court matter, and whether he or cabinet sanctioned the use of public funds.
Mr Rockliff refused to be drawn further, only to say that legal fees were “within guidelines”.
In addition to her environment portfolio, Ms Ogilvie was also innovation, community and multicultural affairs, and arts minister.
It is not clear when Mr Rockliff might reassign the roles.
Ms Ogilvie, an MP for the inner-city Hobart electorate of Clark, has a chequered parliamentary history.
The great-niece of pioneering 1930s Labor premier Albert Ogilvie, she was first elected as a Labor MP in 2014, serving one term but failing to be re-elected.
She returned to parliament on a recount after the mid-term resignation of Labor MP Scott Bacon in 2019, but chose to sit as an independent.
Ms Ogilvie switched allegiances to Liberal and won a seat at the 2021 election, serving as a minister since 2022.
The affair is the latest bit of bad news for Mr Rockliff’s government, following a broken election promise to create a state-backed insurance company and a tough budget including $700 million in cuts to health.
