On ABC Radio National this morning ART Chair, Fiona McLeod SC, said:
That statement – I don’t need to know – does suggest she [Gladys Berejiklian] is seeking to distance herself from information that might compromise her and the problem is that when politicians do this, they are choosing to be ignorant on things so they don’t come back to bite them. Firstly, they lose a clear opportunity to hit pause on the conduct and redirect it so it doesn’t become unlawful or improper and it’s very hard to do that when the relationship is very close, but, secondly, Premiers do have an ultimate responsibility to put the public interest ahead of their private interests.
We know that these relationships are vulnerable to those seeking to buy influence, market advantage, or favourable decisions and, really, premiers, prime ministers and their ministers, as heads of government, have an obligation to follow Ministerial Codes of Conduct strictly so that our interests are put ahead of those interests.
Listen here to the program