Rex Patrick wins FoI case to release national cabinet records

First-of-its-kind ruling paves way for trove of secret documents to be made public

The parliamentary committee scrutinising the Morrison government's handling of the pandemic will demand a trove of secret documents after an extraordinary judgment finding national cabinet records can be accessed under the freedom of information regime.

The first-of-its-kind case in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was brought by Senate crossbencher Rex Patrick, who argued the prime minister had no grounds to extend cabinet confidentiality to his national cabinet meetings with state premiers and chief ministers.