Government confirms bid to hide counter-terror details from royal commission
The government is attempting to prevent a royal commission from accessing details about counter-terrorism funding related to the Bondi massacre. Environment Minister Murray Watt confirmed that a public interest immunity claim was made to protect cabinet documents. The government maintains that it is supporting the inquiry, despite opposition accusations of political embarrassment.
- ▪Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's department is blocking the royal commission from examining intelligence agency directives on counter-terrorism resources.
- ▪ASIO officials stated they did not seek to prevent access to relevant materials for the royal commission.
- ▪The government claims that protecting cabinet confidentiality is a longstanding convention in such inquiries.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.