- Premier claims to have only found out on Sunday
- Hodgman needs to confirm date affair began
- Courtney should remove cloud by making full statement on scandal
The Premier has placed himself at the centre of the Sarah Courtney affair scandal by claiming that he only found out on Sunday, but won’t admit to any knowledge of when the relationship started, Deputy Labor Leader Michelle O’Byrne said.
“Premier Hodgman knows when the relationship began but he won’t say – this places him in the middle of this scandal,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“It’s clear that if the Premier wasn’t told immediately, Ms Courtney has breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct and has to go.
“With the Premier refusing to disclose that date, all decisions made by Ms Courtney should be reviewed. Given the Premier’s refusal, this investigation must include all decisions since Ms Courtney was appointed a Minister in March.
“The Premier cannot pick and choose which decisions he thinks should be reviewed – Sarah Courtney’s entire time as Minister is under a cloud.
“Similarly, the decisions made by John Whittington as Department Secretary must be scrutinised independently.
“The Premier should commit to a timeline for the review and for a full release of the findings so Tasmanians don’t end up in the same limbo as the ongoing Adam Brooks emails saga.”
Ms O’Byrne said Ms Courtney should make a full statement on the scandal, including when the relationship began and other key dates – including when she admitted it to the Premier.
