CHIEF Minister Katy Gallagher will interupt her  leave to appear before the Public  Accounts Committee at Friday’s hospital data scandal hearing. 

In the lead up to the hearing, opposition health spokesperson Jeremy Hanson has written to the committee chair calling on MLAs “not to filibuster” during proceedings.

The committee comprises Greens’ Caroline Le Couteur (chair), Labor’s John Hargreaves (deputy chair), Liberal Brendan Smyth.

The auditor-general Dr Maxine Cooper will face questioning tomorrow morning resulting from her recent investigation and report into the scandal in which she found 11,700 files had been tampered with and, while one individual had admitted responsibility, that it was the work of more than one person.

The Chief Minister and the head of Canberra Hospital, Dr Peggy Brown, faced a grilling from the Estimates Committee a fortnight ago, during which the Chief Minister revealed that her sister worked, though not directly, to the officer who has admitted making changes to the emergency department data. Ms Gallagher’s sister was interviewed and cleared by the auditor-general.

“In earlier Estimates hearings on the scandal, Labor and Greens Estimates Committee members ran interference to protect Katy Gallagher, going completely against the democratic basis of committee hearings,” Mr Hanson said.

“Katy Gallagher hasn’t been upfront with Canberrans about her conflict of interest in this scandal, and has been tricky with her words and keep the community in the dark.

“That’s why I urge both parties to give Canberrans the answers they deserve about how a health employee was placed in a situation where they saw no option but to falsify data which was causing political pressure for the Health Minister.”

PAC deputy chair John Hargreaves has described Hanson’s accusations as “ludicrous and hypocritical”.

“What I find most gobsmacking about all of this is that it is Mr Hanson who has a record of bullying, ignoring requests and being thrown out of the chamber,” Mr Hargreaves said.

“In my 14 and a half years I have never seen this viciousness and charging towards members at a personal level, as I have from him.”