Release: NSW government guards its chamber of secrets

Release: NSW government guards its chamber of secrets

The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, the largest taxpayer advocacy group in the country, today demanded the NSW government release key public health and safety information, as well as data on the taxpayer funds being used to line MPs wallets.

“The NSW government refuses to tell Aussies which hospitals are high-risk for patients, which nursing homes have the worst rates of assault against patients, and which buildings have the same flammable cladding that produced the fatal Grenfell Tower disaster in London,” said Emilie Dye, ATA Policy Director. “And pollies wonder why public faith in our democracy is at record lows.”

"Politicians wave their bureaucratic wand, enforcing consumers ‘protections’ as they choose. But consumers, when equipped with all the information, are the best judges of their own needs. By hypocritically concealing vital data, the government allows Aussies to receive subpar healthcare and the elderly to enter homes where they will be abused.

“Unsurprisingly, government secrecy extends to money. These same politicians collect generous allowances paid for by hard-working Australians then carefully hide the evidence. Pollies have built a system where they are allowed to pocket any leftover funding for their electorate and claim it as personal income without telling their constituents.

“How are the people of NSW supposed to have faith in a government that keeps critical public health data secret and authorises its members to line their own pockets with cash meant for their electorate?

“The NSW government must publicly release information on all matters of public health and safety. They cannot continue to keep secrets from the public and they cannot continue to take electorate funds for themselves.”