PM has dismissed opposition’s concerns but Penny Wong says it could be used to ‘cover up decision-making’

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Labor has labelled a cabinet committee with just one permanent member – Scott Morrison – an “abuse of process” that enables Morrison to call meetings protected by cabinet confidentiality, even if no other cabinet members are present.

The cabinet office policy committee was the focus of questioning in both Senate estimates and question time, where Morrison defended the committee responsible for his policy “deep dives” and dismissed Labor concerns as “trivial Canberra politics”.

On Monday, Mathias Cormann and officials from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet confirmed that Morrison was the only “permanent” member of the committee.

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Stephanie Foster, the PMC deputy secretary of governance, told the finance and public administration estimates hearing that Morrison convenes meetings attended by others. Cormann said this included ministers, backbenchers and public servants, but took on notice if it included non-government stakeholders.

Foster and Cormann suggested the committee informs the government’s policy direction including commissioning further work, but decisions are ultimately taken by the expenditure review committee or cabinet itself.

Wong suggested that meetings of the cabinet committee would be protected by cabinet confidentiality, even if no other cabinet members are present and non-parliamentarians are, labelling this an “abuse of cabinet in confidence”.

An answer to a question on notice confirmed as a committee of cabinet, the cabinet office policy committee would attract the “longstanding rule” against disclosing information that “could potentially reveal the deliberations of cabinet”.

“You use these conventions to cover up blatant political decision-making,” Wong said. “[It’s] yet another Morrison government cover-up.”

Asked if material considered would be protected by cabinet confidentiality, Cormann replied the meetings are “discussions” that may not have formal decision minutes but took the question on notice.

Cormann argued the committee is part of “good public policy development” to get the “broadest possible input” to government decision-making, accusing Labor’s Penny Wong of “confected outrage” about the workings of the committee.

“Nothing about anything you’ve raised is concerning,” he said.

Officials took on notice a request for the dates the committee had met, and whether members of the political wing of the Liberal party had attended.

Asked in question time if the “one-man committee” constituted an abuse of the cabinet designed to hide government documents, Morrison replied: “I can confirm that the governance committee of cabinet regularly has attending its meetings myself, the attorney general, the deputy prime minister and the treasurer.”

Morrison mistook the question to be about the cabinet’s governance committee, which is constituted by himself, Christian Porter, Michael McCormack and Josh Frydenberg.

In response to a further question, Morrison defended the cabinet office policy committee which he said meets “on a regular basis to focus on key challenges and issues facing the Australian people”.

Morrison said as the “convenor” of the committee he brings in cabinet members, and other members of the government.

“The policy committee has been dealing with issues like getting electricity prices down, dealing with the issues of how we manage plastics waste, ensuring how we can get focused on the energy needs of Australia into the future, how with can focus on meeting the damage and challenges of the drought,” he said.

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“These cabinet office policy committees have been crucial mechanisms used for the government to come together, to pull together the experience and the learnings and the wisdom of those who sit on the government benches to focus on the issues that are most important to the Australian people.”

“And what the Australian people are getting a lesson from, from the opposition at the moment, is they are more interested in the trivial politics of Canberra than the serious issues that are confronting the Australian people.”

In a statement, Labor’s shadow cabinet secretary, Jenny McAllister, said the committee “is both a device for internal control and a vehicle to shield documents from parliamentary scrutiny and freedom of information laws”.

“We know Mr Morrison doesn’t trust his cabinet colleagues, and his one-person cabinet committee proves it.”

Guardian Australia contacted Morrison for comment.