Auditor General debunks narrative that Premier Office’s cooperated

Auditor General (AG), Sonia Webster, has disputed the narrative that the Premier’s Office made attempts to cooperate with her office during the early stages of its COVID-19 stimulus grants last year.

Appearing before the Commission of Inquiry (COI) in a marathon hearing last Friday, Webster supported her position with an email that was sent to her office. This email explicitly denied the Audit Office access to information from the Trade Department, which operates under the Premier’s Office.

The denial of access seen in the email was reportedly made by Permanent Secretary (PS) within the Premier’s Office, Dr Carolyn O’Neal-Morton, who also previously gave evidence before the COI.

“That was an explicit objection, an ongoing explicit objection because that request was made several times. It was made by the staff, and it was made by me,” Webster stated.

Asked by COI attorney, Bilal Rawat whether she felt this was contrary to any suggestion that there was, in fact, an attempt at cooperation, Webster said: “It is contrary, yes, that would be our position.”

She added: “And this required no effort on Dr Morton’s part. It doesn’t require her to put in any kind of resources. It’s simply an instruction, a simple instruction.”