AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith should explain the non-disclosure of documents on an alleged paedophile priest with whom he has ties, the opposition says.
FATHER Finian Egan, a former priest at the Carlingford Catholic church attended by Mr Smith and whom the attorney-general once thanked in parliament for his “Irish wit and pastoral devotion to his flock”, is on bail after being charged with sex offences relating to one boy and three girls.
The Sun-Herald reported on Sunday that Mr Smith’s chief of staff, Damien Tudehope, had ruled an application lodged by the NSW opposition for documents on Egan under the Government Information (Public Access) Act was out of bounds.
In his response, Mr Tudehope reportedly said in June there was an “overriding public interest against disclosure”, and that the material was “provided to the minister in confidence”.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.