As the secrecy of national cabinet decisions look set to be tested, an academic who raised serious concerns about the government’s highly secretive National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board has criticised efforts to address its conflicts of interest, saying they do nothing to improve transparency.
Elizabeth Hicks, a law academic at the University of Melbourne who wrote a policy brief last year scrutinising the commission’s function, told Crikey its updated terms of reference were “window dressing”.
“There is still no transparent process for reporting conflicts,” she said.
“There’s no real public transparency there. It can rely on those opaque processes that cabinet has that really only exist in the context of ministers. It’s not meant to be for these broader bodies composed of unelected individuals.”
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Hicks’ policy brief found the commission risked a “subversion” of democracy because of its lack of transparency and the fact that it had no legislative underpinning or independent appointment process for members.
The commission is one of three bodies, including the national cabinet and the Australian Protection Principal Committee, that were deemed “committees of cabinet”, meaning their deliberations, papers and outcomes are considered cabinet-in-confidence.
That secrecy is due to be tested by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in May after independent Senator Rex Patrick launched proceedings against the government after two freedom of information requests for minutes of the national cabinet meetings were knocked back.
Grattan Institute researcher Kate Griffiths said: “We haven’t seen elected officials make the justification for why this commission is still needed.
“There was a suggestion at the start of the crisis that quick advice was needed. But we are well past that point now and the commission is still in existence, and it’s not even clear what advisory role it’s playing.”
Another test case against the government’s claims that national cabinet deliberations are exempt from FOI laws is being filed by the Australian Conservation Foundation, which wants access to information about the 15 environmental approvals “fast-tracked” by the Environment Minister Sussan Ley.
Patrick says it’s inconsistent with responsible government to “put up the shutters”.
“We cannot have a prime minister unilaterally cast a secrecy blanket over the operation of government,” he told The Australian.
Griffiths says the public has a right to expect more transparency over the COVID commission since it was influencing public policymaking.
“It’s up to the government to explain why it is needed and to provide some transparency and justification for why a body such as this can be kept secret,” she said.
Secret Morrison government business. Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say section.
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This is a very intriguing article. What exactly is known about this National COVID-19 Commission? And why the secrecy behind closed doors? You can’t help but wonder if this is the body set up to take covid-19 directions and instructions ( policy ) from the World Health Organization, or worse.
If you are right then no wonder the secrecy. Especially in consideration of the articles of association buried deep within the WHO Agenda 2030. Not always in the best interests of national sovereignty and certainly the devil in the detail.
Could n’t agree more. There is no room big enough to hold all the Hairy Mammoths.
They used to be called Star Chambers.
Well, seeing it’s stacked with vested business interests, particular the fossil fuel industry and not with representatives of the WHO, seems to me the directions are coming the FF execs. A gaslit recovery “hints” at the same.
Thank you for being sensible. Its as clear as day that the government is corrupt. The stench of a million dead fish still wafts across the lands.
The World Health Organization does n’t need Australian board representation to call the shots. It’s all done through state health. But if you want to be genuinely concerned then you should focus on the Public Private Partnerships aspect of National COVID-19 Commission and health. If you are genuinely concerned that is, rather than accusing me of being a member of Qanon, what ever that even is.
Sorry, this post was meant to be a reply to Miss Money Penny but went to Heartshunter instead.
Agreed. As Slivmilen said there is not a room big enough to hide this Hairy Mammoth.
There is obviously plenty of vacant space between your ears.
And slivmilens.
Ouch!..I was just starting to feel good about myself, too.
FFS its about hiding CORRUPTION. All the looney theories in the world coming out now. When did Crikey become the home of QANON covidiots?
Well, excuse me but I am not sure where all the covidiots are, but you are letting your neoliberal disdain blind you to other possible international agency connection and corruption. I agree with you about hiding corruption but widen your lense a bit. It’s a body appointed to coordinate covid health issues to be specific.
If you think anyone on this site is connected to Qanon then I recommend for you some serious counselling..and quicker the better.
You may not be associated with QAnon but you are actively promoting pseudo or junk science via vaccination scepticism and claiming conspiracies round WHO.
Like Trump and less extent UK and Oz Tories too…. (ditto UK Brexit vis-a-vis EU, ‘supranational’ bodies usurping ‘freedom and liberty’ of nativist conservative libertarian power).
What’s next, trot out the longstanding patron of Australian Sceptics, Dick Smith, to promote ‘infinite exponential population growth’?
It’s why conspiracy theories have emerged and been encouraged by governments and regimes that are nativist, conservative, religious and corrupt; somewhere in the same ecosystem as astroturfing, junk science, climate science denialism etc.. as promoted to support the GOP in the USA.
If nationalism and/or religion cannot attract support for white Christian nationalist governments, then conspiracy theorists are an added (unthinking) option…..
Interesting here on Crikey how anodyne or factually correct content or words can push comments to moderation, but consistent conspiracy trolling does not?
There have been two or three usual suspects who have been promoting conspiracy theories on Crikey for sometime now, with the desired effect of disrupting others’ comments.
Comment button reporting abuse, unfounded conspiracies and trolling would be useful?
Your 3rd paragraph is spot on.
However, given how often here simple statements of fact are downvoted (!?!?) the provision of an abuse button would blow the fuses on the already dodgy MadBot as it would certainly be abused by the usual suspects.
The Covid commission was set up to advise the government on the economic path forward. Nothing to do with health. It is stacked with executives from the gas and mining industries, whose idea of moving forward is to build gas pipelines across the country
“Originally formed as the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission on 25 March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the body as responsible for advising the government on public–private partnerships and coordination to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the pandemic in Australia”. Wikipedia
Does n’t tell us much really, other than a plethora of neocons on the board.
I thought Public-Private Partnerships were done and dusted. There is also a University of Melbourne paper that infers a vehicle for increased executive powers during times of crises. What does the Morrison govt know that we don’t know
Any “subversion” of democracy in Australia is not driven by an international organisation, it is driven by our current Federal Government parties. The LNP will not countenance any form of open, democratic governance as it co-incidentally requires the acceptance of equality, responsibility and open consultation on any number of fronts – both concepts alien to the LNP.
Any LNP governance of substance is carried out behind closed doors, between party political operatives for the sole benefit of the participants and their financial backers – the rest is just froth. To that end, so-called independent enquiries on sensitive subjects (flames behind smoke) are generally farmed out to a “safe pair of hands” orbiting in the LNP universe. Touchy or bad news Enquiry reports are deferred for as long as possible and then held up for release pending assessment of the most propitious time and place to achieve the most distracting window-dressing result. Quite often, on a long weekend when the punters are otherwise distracted at the beach or a football match.
Our greatest national concern at this time should not be about the enemy without but the enemy within. Our democracy is being white-anted from the inside. Our national economy is run for the most part for the benefit of LNP party political operatives and their financial enablers. The Australian electorate is being desensitised by a constant spew of half truths, outright falsehoods and appalling examples of personal values and behaviours.
Or reviews are simply “amended” as Anthony Klan recently revealed with the ASIC review, over which Vivienne Thom resigned.
100% yes.
“Any “subversion” of democracy in Australia is not driven by an international organisation,”
Could n’t agree more, but it’s the National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board, not the commission into Australian democracy advisory board. Because it’s covid which is a health issue there are international parallels.
I spotted that. I don’t think he can tell the difference. It’s called tunnel vision.
Great to see someone who gets it. I really think that Murdoch and his LNP have already destroyed democracy in Australia.
Agree, but there is some international subversion that comes from our own allies in the form of the GOP modus operandi: Koch think tanks (in Oz IPA/CIS), Mercer (investing/using digital analytics/SM more) and ‘media assembly line’ (centred round NewsCopr/9F/7West), as described by Jane Mayer in ‘Dark Money’ (round Koch’s ‘Freedom Works’ research project into ‘influence’ and how to sell and legislate unpalatable libertarian policies, through forming coalition of white Christian conservative nationalists).
Done via the commissioning of secretive and partisan think tanks or the right academic research institutes/schools, develop into publicly palatable policy, then sell by lobbying MPs, committees and promoted by friendly media to voters via multiple channels.
One of the more obvious local policy issues is fossil fuels, carbon emissions and environment, but citing the constant population/immigration nexus as a cause of environmental degradation e.g. Labor’s under Gillard had a ‘Minister of Sustainable Population’, hence, no constraints on fossil fuels and/or governments through legislation…. successful outcome for Australians?
They were put in place because smoco had/and still has no idea about running a country so passed it on to others, great for blame if anything goes wrong – take how he used Victoria in that regard when he was and is constitutionally responsible for quarantine.
There should have been a greater outcry at the time, probably would have if we hadn’t been hit (in quite a small way as it turns out compared to other countries) by Covid 19.
It’s amazing he claims responsibility for getting Jen pregnant twice.
“It’s amazing he claims responsibility for getting Jen pregnant twice.”
Has anyone heard him make that claim? And if so, would you believe him?
It’s a wise man who knows his offspring.
Lend an ear to Buffy St Marie’s “Johnny Be Fair“.
Unelected billionaires behaving like little Napoleans. They have DOUBLED their fortunes during the pandemic. Disgraceful. Unelected crooks & future thieves with their hands in the cookie jar. Leaving a few stale crumbs for us.