LAWYERS acting for a 12-year-old Hobart girl sold for sex in 2009 while a state ward have been denied access to her case files by the State Government.
The girl’s court-appointed “separate representative”, barrister Kate Mooney, is seeking an exceptional order in the Magistrates Court next week to force the release of the files.
The girl’s lawyer Roland Browne has had three written requests to the Health and Human Services Department for access to the files stonewalled since October.
He is also seeking a court order next week for the files to be provided by the department, as he prepares a compensation and damages case against the Government.
The revelations have raised more suggestions the Government is suppressing information relating to its mishandling of the care of the girl, to protect Children’s Minister Lin Thorp.
Ms Thorp is facing a critical election in her Upper House seat of Rumney on Saturday, with her chances of re-election already damaged by the child-prostitution case.
Liberal leader Will Hodgman said he feared the Government was more concerned about protecting Ms Thorp than it was about protecting the best interests of the girl.
“Who is the Government trying to protect here with its secrecy, the minister or the girl?” Mr Hodgman said.
