Carpenter Humiliated by Public Pressure
The Desert Rat is not surprised to see Alan Carpenter The Minister for Transparent Government capitulate over his refusal to release Dawn Casey’s Department of Indigenous Affairs Review Report.
Carpenter was on a hiding to nothing in refusing to release the Report. His arrogance clouded his judgment and his handling of the matter was inept.
The Desert Rat is aware of one applicant who was asked yesterday by the Department of Premier for an extension of time to assess the report for release. The applicant refused the request from the Internal Reviewer of the Freedom of Information (FOI) decision (see earlier posts). Refusal of the Internal Reviewer to release the Report would have shifted the pressure and next decision to John Lightowlers the new gagged FOI Commissioner.
Lightowlers would have been in the hot seat; in a no win position. If he released the report he would have been "put into Coventry" by the “Ruling Junta”. Lightowlers would have been seen as a lackey if he refused to release the Report and been completely discredited in the eyes of the public and the press. The State Coroner Alastair Hope had subpoenaed the Report together with the Head of the Premier’s Department Mal Wauchope for his inquiry into Aboriginal suicides.
What hiding the Report highlighted, was the more embarrassing, complete failure of the State ALP Governments in the area of Aboriginal advancement and welfare. The Premier Alan Carpenter performance has been six years of “incapacity building”.
Well now the public can look forward to reading the report, but the Desert Rat still smells another “rat”.
More to follow?
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