Labor has sought the Coalition agreement under freedom of information, but the government refuses to provide it on the basis it is a party political document not a government document. “As I understand it in a technical sense there is a costs order,” he said. The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, conceded the Coalition agreement went to the running of government and also specified the “allocation of staff to the National party”. Labor will continue to seek the Coalition agreement through the AAT case, after having asked for it unsuccessfully in Senate estimates. In a statement Fitzgibbon said the Australian people “deserve to know the basis on which their prime minister holds office”.

Source: The Guardian February 27, 2018 07:18 UTC