Embattled former minister Joy Burch appears to have been left in the dark over the affair that ended her ministerial career, saying on Wednesday that she still had no detailed knowledge of the outcome.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Breaking her silence on the affair, Ms Burch also questioned why police weren't investigating the leak of a phone conversation between her former chief of staff Maria Hawthorne and CFMEU boss Dean Hall in April last year.
Ms Burch said she found it "curious" that police were not investigating the leak, which she believed came from a phone tap on Mr Hall's phone by the royal commission into trade unions. The Greens' Shane Rattenbury also questioned the lack of an investigation into the leak.
The leak, to Fairfax Media last year, sparked the investigation that forced Ms Burch's resignation from cabinet and the resignation of her chief of staff, Maria Hawthorne, who has since accused police of "taking down" the minister.
Ms Burch revealed that the second staffer implicated in the affair had also been contacted by police security "asking for a conversation about the role of the CPLO [the community policing liaison officer] and the way information was shared in the minister's office".
Like Ms Hawthorne, the second staffer had referred police to the staff member's lawyer, who had heard nothing since. The police evaluation had been concluded without any input from any staff member, she said.
In a possible indication of frustration at her treatment, Ms Burch said the police had evaluated "indiscretions of which I still have no knowledge".
She had not been briefed about the outcome. She had no knowledge of the information provided by Chief Police Officer Rudi Lammers to Chief Minister Andrew Barr or Attorney-general Simon Corbell. Nor was she privy to any information the pair might have shared with the Greens' Shane Rattenbury, she said.
"I have no information before me at all. I have not been briefed on any aspect of this evaluation by the chief police officer," she told the Assembly from her place on the backbench.
"I have remained silent on this for a range of reasons, and do not expect to change my habit of being silent on this now. I consider the matter closed, it is a distressing situation for all involved. My former chief of staff ... is in the chamber and this is ... the first time I have been her since December of last year."
Ms Burch was speaking after Liberal Leader Jeremy Hanson put a motion to the ACT parliament, calling on Mr Barr to make a full explanation.
Assistant Commissioner Lammers fronted the media in March to announce the case was closed, with no criminal charges being laid. But he said police had serious concerns about how sensitive operational information had been handled in Ms Burch's office by two staff members – Ms Hawthorne and another who remains unnamed and is still working in the Assembly, presumably in Ms Burch's office but possibly in the office of the other backbencher, Jayson Hinder.
Assistant Commissioner Lammers would not detail what information was shared and with whom. Nor would he say how police discovered that information had been leaked from Ms Burch's office.
Mr Hanson said the public deserved to know what was leaked, how and to whom, and how it was used.
"Something has gone very very wrong at the heart of this government and people have a right to know," he said. "It has cost the minister and her chief of staff their jobs ... it is not a light issue."
Mr Hanson pointed to comments from Mr Corbell in December when Mr Corbell said police should be allowed to do their work.
"Let's see what the results of that are and then we will have a very good idea and clarity around what has occurred here and why it has occurred. And at that time we can have a broader conversation about the circumstances of this most unfortunate matter," Mr Corbell said then.
Mr Hanson said the police investigation was finished and the public was still waiting.
"We were told that we would have full and comprehensive explanation but there are still no answers," he said.
"I am greatly concerned not only by what has happened but by the evasiveness of this government, and the stain that is now on the reputation of police and on everyone else who has been involved with this," he said.
Mr Barr said he could not release sensitive police information. Mr Hanson's motion was voted down by Labor and Mr Rattenbury. Mr Rattenbury said he had "gone back and forth with Mr Barr and was satisfied that Mr Barr had provided all the information he could.
