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The Senate Select Committee has been running into a headwind recently. You saw yesterday how no less than the former Prime Minister appeared as attorney counseling two key witnesses basically to make sure they didn't provide the Committee with any useful information.
And then, 3 days ago the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly saying they will not provide certain documents to the Committee. The Cab Sec's letter says, quote, "I have been obliged to seek legal advice…from the Attorney General's Ministry….I regret that I am unable to accede to the request of the Senate Special Select Committee's in relation to the documents."
So, no cooperation from either side of the political fence.
Today, Opposition Senator, and UDP Chairman Mike Peyrefitte gave a Zoom press briefing where he bashed the government for not releasing the documents. But we also had some tough questions for him. Here's the back and forth:
Mike Peyreffite, UDP Chairman
"I think it shows a lack of respect for the process - I think it shows a lack of respect for the process, but it's not surprising. The prime minister doesn't respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act when it comes to the people's moneys."
"The committee asked him for the documents that they considered, that they looked at, to help the committee do its work, and they have just flat out said no. And I don't know what the committee will do from here."
"Technically, it's like this then. You have a committee form to examine an agreement and the government doesn't even want to produce the agreement."
"We want to know what John Briceno, what went through your mind when you asked the Cabinet to approve this matter last March, even though you had opinions saying that the agreement was dead in the water? We want to know what provoked this government to still want to pass that with accompanying legislation that we are told was never even drafted by the attorney general's ministry. Who drafted that definitive agreement? Who drafted the proposed legislation? That's what we want to get to, not talk about no lands. But the PUP's in the Senate Select Committee do not want to bring John Briceno to the committee to answer those questions. They do not want him to come on and babble and not make himself look good as usual. So they are trying to muddy the waters with some land issues around it that is totally irrelevant."
Reporter:
"Is it your view then, that a request from the Senate committee trumps, ahm, the constitutional conventions, which indicates that Cabinet papers are considered confidential and shouldn't be released to the public for public consumption?"
Mike Peyreffite, UDP Chairman "What constitutional conventions are you talking about?"
"Show me where in the Constitution that there is a convention that you don't provide….And remember constitutional conventions. You know what that sounds like to me? Cabinet privileges, something we've never heard of before. What's a constitutional convention? Show me the Constitution where documents presented to cabinet can never be released to the public. Show me that."
"We have a Senate Select Committee with terms of references that specifically say the government can, the committee can call anyone who can shed light on what led to the signing of this agreement and what led to the government taking it to cabinet."
"The long established practice and the vow you take at the opening of, at the swearing in of any new cabinet is that deliberations are confidential, decisions are collective."
"We're not asking for deliberations. The committee in its request, did not ask for a tape recording of the cabinet meeting. They said, listen, the documents that were sent to Cabinet, what are those? And let's be frank Jules, we already have them."
"So there is no secret, one. Two: this government got elected on the basis that you could see up their nose hole. They would be so transparent because they have nothing to hide. Thirdly, this is not John Jones requesting a cabinet document so he or she could read it on a Sunday. This is a Senate select committee, a committee of the Upper House, following up on a motion before the Senate."
