A key letter to Scott Morrison on the sports rorts saga which the government claims it cannot find should have been retained, the freedom of information watchdog says.
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The federal government has fought a two-year battle to bar access to a 2020 letter sent by then-attorney general Christian Porter, thought to contain his advice on the controversial grants scheme.
But independent senator Rex Patrick has accused the Coalition of being "addicted to secrecy", after the Office of the Information Commissioner said the letter should have been passed to Michaelia Cash when she replaced Mr Porter a year ago.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet argued the letter was a cabinet document, and therefore exempt from freedom of information requests, before claiming in December it could not be found.
The government has also used a controversial FOI law, dubbed a loophole by critics, enabling requests to be deleted after a change of minister to block access to the letter.
A copy of the letter was not transferred to Ms Cash.
But in correspondence to Senator Patrick seen by The Canberra Times, the office suggested a copy should have been retained by her office.
"The change in minister occurred within the same government and the document may be relevant to the current Attorney-General's responsibilities," the correspondence said.
"Therefore, it would not appear unreasonable for the former attorney-general to transfer documents to the current Attorney-General."
Senator Patrick, who has been fighting for access to the document since early 2020, accused the government of "damaging democracy" by stifling access to information.
The independent been a critic of the law, also used by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to delete freedom of information requests related to Mr Porter's blind trust saga.
"I'm pleased that the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has affirmed the common-sense idea that when a minister changes, the old minister must transfer documents across," he said.
"It's a controversial cabinet document, so I understand it might be very convenient for them to have lost it. But it is in no way proper."
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The letter is believed contain Mr Porter's advice on whether then-Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie had the authority to overrule recommendations from Sports Australia when she allocated the grant funds.
The Coalition faced allegations of pork-barrelling, after a damning report by the National Audit Office found the $100 million scheme was used to target marginal seats before the 2019 election.
Senator McKenzie resigned from cabinet in 2020 after revelations she did not declare her membership of a gun club to which she allocated $36,000, but was reinstated last year.
The Attorney-General's Department and Ms Cash's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Finn McHugh
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
