AN inquiry into the Windsor Hotel email scandal is in limbo after its author failed to appear and Planning Minister Justin Madden instead gatecrashed proceedings, demanding to be heard.

Mr Madden’s former media adviser Peta Duke ignored a subpoena to appear before the Finance and Public Administration Committee by order of Attorney General Rob Hulls.

The inquiry is investigating an email Ms Duke wrote, which advocates a sham public consultation process for the $260 million redevelopment of the heritage listed hotel.

Ms Duke accidentally emailed the strategy to an ABC journalist.

Mr Madden was due to appear before the inquiry in several weeks but stormed into the hearing on Friday, sitting in Ms Duke’s chair and demanding to be heard.

The hearing then descended into farce, with two opposition MPs and Democratic Labor MP Peter Kavanagh walking out, and proceedings eventually abandoned for the day.

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“This is about me,” Mr Madden told the hearing after he sat in Ms Duke’s chair.

“I’m the responsible minister and I am here to answer your questions.”

Outside the inquiry room, Mr Madden said it was a long-standing practice across governments that political staffers did not appear before parliamentary inquiries.

He said he wanted to answer the committee’s questions but said he had not seen the email at the centre of its investigations.

Mr Madden said Mr Hulls was the supreme law maker in Victoria and he was within his rights to direct Ms Duke to defy a subpoena.

“The attorney-general is the chief law maker of the land and of course this is … the long standing and long held tradition that staffers do not appear before inquiries.

“I have absolute respect for this system (the parliament) and I have been prepared to attend today.”

The inquiry was earlier told an advisory committee report into the redevelopment of the hotel was delivered to Mr Madden’s office on February 8, almost three weeks before Ms Duke sent the email.

“I have not seen the report,” Mr Madden said outside the inquiry.

He said as was normal practice the report was referred to the department and in this case it was sent on the same day it arrived in his department.

“I don’t belive I have received any advice in relation to this matter (the advisory committee report),” he said.

He said he did not believe anyone in his office had read the committee report.

The committee members are expected to meet to determine the next step in the inquiry.

Source: www.heraldsun.com.au

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