Assessment launched after Labor raises concerns about potential breaches of the State Records Act
A fresh inquiry has been launched into the shredding of documents related to hundreds of millions of dollars of controversial council funding by the office of the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian.
The State Archives and Records Authority of NSW launched the inquiry after concerns were raised by Labor about potential breaches of the State Records Act.
In a letter to Greg Warren, Labor’s local government spokesman, the authority said the opposition’s complaint “provides a sufficient basis and meets the threshold outlined in our procedures” to commence a recordkeeping assessment.
“The assessment will address your allegation of breaches of s21 of the State Records Act 1998 in relation to the creation, capture, management and disposal of ‘working advice notes’ and emails,” the letter obtained by Guardian Australia states.
The state government’s Stronger Communities Fund is the subject of a parliamentary inquiry after it issued more than $250m in grants mostly to councils in Coalition-held electorates.
The inquiry heard last month from a senior staffer in Berejiklian’s office, Sarah Lau, who told the committee she provided the premier with briefing notes and advice on the scheme and later shredded them, which she said was in line with her “normal record management practices”.
The chair of the committee, the Greens MP David Shoebridge, asked at the time whether digital versions existed. Lau said the notes were created on Microsoft Word and they were “no longer available” and she believed she had deleted them “as part of her normal record-keeping process”.
Warren said on Tuesday the State Archives and Records Authority had agreed the matter warranted investigation. The state’s information commissioner has also launched a preliminary investigation.
“This is just another instalment of a government and premier that can’t tell the truth in relation to the distribution of money to councils that really need it,” Warren said. “They need certainty, they need honesty and, clearly, they’re not getting it.”
The NSW Labor leader, Jodi McKay, on Tuesday criticised Berejiklian for “refusing to order the Department of Premier and Cabinet to retrieve computer files that were deleted by her office”.
The matter was previously referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption by Shoebridge in May.
Comment has been sought from Berejiklian. The premier has previously defended the grants program in parliament saying the funding initiative delivered “untold benefits to local communities”. She has denied signing off on projects.
Berejiklian has separately been under pressure in recent weeks over revelations she had a secret affair with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire. He’s being investigated by the corruption watchdog over commissions he received from property developers for lobbying for their developments while he was a parliamentarian.
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