Trust issues? Me too. That’s why I’m introducing a motion to Parliament next week requiring Cabinet submissions and briefing papers to be proactively released within 30 days of a final decision.
It will mainstream transparency, sending an unambiguous message that transparency in government information practice is the new default, not the exception, promoting accountability and public trust in government.
Tasmanians have after all been asked to take a lot on trust lately with our Premier waving off expert advice like an emperor.
Trust about the stadium (now sans carpark), the Spirits, Wilkinsons Point, Marinus Link, public transport, pokies, the budget, etc, etc …
The trust issues are stacking up, noting it will be 12 years of government for the Liberals next month, after 16 years of Labor of course, to get Tasmania to this point.
But the cabinet information informing all those decisions – some of them controversial, ahem – was not publicly available in a timely manner.
When governments say “trust us” but won’t show their workings, confidence erodes. Not because people are anti-government — but because they’re not fools.
Across the world, that erosion of trust is having consequences. People are turning to populist movements and the political fringe.
Some of that shift is fuelled by misinformation. But some of it is driven by a simple instinct: if the major parties won’t level with us, we’ll find someone who will.
Tasmania doesn’t need to go down that path.
We need something less dramatic and more practical: mainstreaming transparency.
The independent review of Tasmania’s Right to Information framework identified a culture of “secrecy by default”.
Under current laws, Cabinet material can stay locked away for at least 10 years – more commonly 25 years – and there is no guarantee of release.
That may once have reflected
accepted practice but in this information age it no longer reflects community expectations.
Parliament and the public are left trying to reconstruct major decisions through estimates hearings, media reports and protracted Right to Information battles.
If we want to rebuild confidence in public life, we have to show our workings.
That is why I am introducing this motion requiring Cabinet submissions and briefing papers to be proactively released within 30 business days of a final decision.
Cabinet debate itself would remain confidential. Sensitive material – national security, commercial-in-confidence, privacy – would still be protected. Redactions would be explained.
This is not radical. New Zealand has done it since 2019. Queensland adopted a similar model in 2024.
When officials know their advice will be published after decisions are made, assumptions are clearer, risks are properly articulated and alternatives are properly canvassed.
And when people can see the evidence behind a decision, they can make up their own minds.
Transparency will not weaken government. It will strengthen it.
If we want to reverse the slide toward distrust, and the misinformation and simplistic answers that we see elsewhere, we need to modernise how we govern here at home.
This reform is a small, practical step, sending a clear message: in Tasmania, decisions backed by public money should be backed by public evidence.