What’s with all
the secrecy?
What a welcome and refreshing change it has been to see WA’s upper house working as it was always intended.
Last week on 22 May 2025, the Cook Labor Government lost its total control of the Legislative Council.
For 4 years they arrogantly treated the upper house with contempt.
Now things have changed.
And with that, the real work has begun in earnest.
As the official Opposition we have wasted no time in holding Premier Cook and his team to account.
The truth is that there have been far too many occasions when the WA Labor Government have chosen secrecy ahead of transparency and this has now been independently exposed.
WA taxpayers fund the salary of WA’s Auditor General.
She is an independent statutory office holder who, amongst other things, checks to see if the Government is being secretive or transparent.
And in her most recent Annual Report she noted that in the last financial year she had to issue the highest number of “disclaimers of opinions” in one year.
A disclaimer of opinion is issued when the auditor cannot fulfil their duty because they are unable to obtain sufficient evidence/information.
Translation: the Auditor General has exposed the Cook Labor Government as the most secretive administration on record.
This is what she said in her report:
“It is disappointing to have to issue disclaimers due to a lack of evidence as the inability of an auditor to access the information they need to meet their obligation is a serious matter for the auditor and for those who rely on their opinion …To best serve the Parliament, community and public interest, we encourage all ministers to choose openness and disclosure as their default position, rather than seeking to identify rationale for not providing information, and only restrict information where there is a genuine matter of public interest to do so.”
What is alarming is that this aversion to transparency is now being coupled with a disregard for genuine community consultation.
And it’s troubling that this all appears to have worsened since the 2025 election.
Take for example the Cook Labor Government’s inexcusable secrecy and disregard for consultation on the Premier’s pet rugby project.
Or what about his Deputy’s pet racetrack project.
One of the signs of a responsible government is whether they consult with ordinary Western Australians about matters directly impacting them.
I’m grateful that my colleague, Hon Neil Thomson MLC (Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council) moved in Parliament that the Government immediately cease its attitude of arrogance and contempt and instead build trust with the community by providing clear and accurate information on key projects, consulting with the community on matters of importance.
Because, at the moment, it certainly looks like the Cook Labor Government don’t believe they need to be accountable to anyone. Not even the Auditor General.
Rest assured, as Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, I am resolute in my determination for the Opposition to fulfil its duty.
That begins with calling out the Government for unnecessarily hiding information from you.
Premier Cook and his team just don’t need to do it.
And if they think otherwise they need to provide a justification to those entrusted with the task of holding them to account: the Parliament, the Opposition and the Auditor General.
Yours for a return to responsible government,
Nick
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council
Shadow Attorney General | Shadow Minister for Child Protection
Here is a short video of my speech exposing the Cook Labor Government’s obsession with secrecy.
