Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-31 Daily Xml

Contents

NationBuilder

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer a question regarding data harvesting.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Yesterday, the Premier stated that nobody had been redirected to a Liberal Party website or platform, and I seek leave to table that document that reflects the Premier's statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: A copy of coding shows the redirection from a government website to a Liberal Party website or platform through multiple redirections, and I seek leave to table a copy of that coding.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Finally, Mimecast issued a statement yesterday, and I seek leave to table a copy of that statement before finishing the explanation and asking the question.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In the first document tabled, the Premier says:

I made it abundantly clear this morning that no person had been redirected to a Liberal Party website or platform.

The ABC states today, and I quote:

Yesterday, the Premier and NationBuilder tried to dismiss the ABC's story by claiming links on the government's websites did not go to NationBuilder. This is incorrect.

We have picked one of the links on the COVID website and here is the code that shows the multiple redirections, and in the second document I have tabled today it shows evidence of a person clicking on a COVID-19 related website that then redirects through to the Liberal Party's website or platform. Mimecast has also come out and been quoted as saying that the information provided by the Premier yesterday on this topic is incorrect.

My question to the Treasurer is: how can it be simultaneously true that there are no redirections to a Liberal Party website from government websites as claimed yesterday by the Premier and, again, twice today by the Treasurer; also, that redirections have occurred from government websites to Liberal Party websites or platforms as revealed by the ABC and evidenced by the documents tabled in this place today? Given that these two things are completely opposite, are the Treasurer and the Premier lying, or is the ABC lying?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:29): Given the simple choice, I will always back in the Premier every day of the week.