Ex-minister stands by staffer's stat dec over claims of inconsistencies
Former Tasmanian Liberal minister Jane Howlett has faced questioning over a range of potential election guidelines issues, including claims that a statutory declaration she tabled in parliament contained inconsistencies.
Former Tasmanian government minister Jane Howlett has defended a statutory declaration she provided for a former staffer, despite questions about inconsistencies. The declaration was tabled in relation to caretaker conventions, which govern election guidelines, and covered claims of taxpayer-funded political campaigning by the staffer.
Howlett appeared at a parliamentary hearing into these conventions on Friday and was questioned by opposition member Dean Winter about the accuracy of the declaration. She stated that she would need to seek advice on whether she stands by the declaration, saying, "I will need to seek some advice on that, Mr Winter." Later, she claimed there was no evidence the declaration was false.
The controversy also involves emails from Tasracing, a government business, that were sent to staff promoting the Liberal party's TasInsure policy during the 2022 election campaign. Howlett's former chief of staff, Luke Gaetani, had been aware of these messages, but Howlett had claimed he was unaware of Tasracing's intentions to issue public communications about TasInsure.
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