Opposition senator Bruce Golding on Friday tabled a number of questions in the Upper House regarding the appointment of a “Special Investigative Commission” under Erwin Angus to review the management of Operation PRIDE in 2002.

Among the questions Golding wanted answered was whether the Government was prepared to pay the legal fees and other costs of the commission following threats by former minister of water and housing, Dr Karl Blythe, to sue the members for statements contained in their report.

The questions, which are to be answered by Leader of Government Business Senator Burchell Whiteman, read:

(1) Does the minister recall that in January 2002 the prime minister appointed a “Special Investigative Commission” chaired by Erwin Angus to investigate the management of the Operation PRIDE programme?

(2) Does the minister recall that the commission was directed by the prime minister “to refer matters of concern to the police, the auditor-general and the contractor-general?

(3) Does the minister recall that the commission submitted its report to the prime minister in April 2002?

(4) Will the minister state why the commission was not established under the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act?

(5) Is the minister aware that under the provisions of Section 10 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, members of a commission are not liable for any action or suit for any matter or thing done by them in their capacity as commissioners?

(6) Is the minister aware that the former minister of water and housing has stated publicly his intention to sue the members of the commission for statements contained in the report?

(7) Is the Government prepared to pay the legal and other costs which may be incurred by the members of the commission in defending themselves against any such suit?

The Angus commission was established by Prime Minister P J Patterson mid-February 2002 after allegations of corruption were levelled by the Opposition at the PRIDE programme which, since its launch in 1995, had been mired in controversy.

The Angus report indicated overruns of $928.25 million in respect of 21 sample projects in the Government’s shelter programme and another $113.7 million on five schemes that have been abandoned.

This was substantially less than the $5-billion overrun suggested by consultants for the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), which ran the Operation PRIDE programme, in an internal audit completed late 2001.

The commission also said that Dr Karl Blythe, when he took over as housing minister in February 2000, went on an expansion spree – overturning a policy that was put in place because of previous difficulties – and told bureaucrats to allow paperwork to catch up with expansion.

In the wake of the Angus report, Blythe resigned from the Cabinet, saying that he preferred not to occupy the post while his request for a forensic audit was being carried out.

Blythe, who has always maintained that he did nothing wrong, was cleared by an assessment of the Angus report done by Ambassador Kenneth Rattray.

Rattray, who died last month, was, at the time, a special adviser to the Cabinet. He literally blasted the Angus Commission for:

. failing to carry out a rigorous and in-depth examination of the facts, including documents, before arriving at its conclusions;

. basing its conclusions on assertions which amounted to hearsay;

. arriving at conclusions without providing Blythe with an opportunity to challenge those conclusions;

. failing to adequately identify and separate the periods during which alleged deficiencies existed, particularly in arriving at findings and conclusions relating to Blythe;

. failing to recognise the special position of the minister responsible for housing under the Housing Act as a Corporation Sole in relation to Operation PRIDE;

. basing its conclusions in relation to undue ministerial influence on factual inaccuracies, false premises and a failure to appreciate the nature of Operation PRIDE; and

. basing its conclusions in relation to over-expenditure on a flawed definition.

After the release of Rattray’s report in December 2002, Blythe demanded an apology from the Angus team and said he would sue them if they didn’t.