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The battle to release the names of PwC staff implicated in the tax scandal is set to intensify this week as the global consulting giant prepares to make its first significant announcement since effectively losing any further business with the Commonwealth.
PwC insiders who are not authorised to speak on the matter have confirmed that acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins will make an announcement this week.
Kristin Stubbins, PwC’s acting chief executive, will be under pressure to act this week after an effective government ban on the firm.
PwC declined to comment, but the firm is dealing with staff implicated in the scandal being stood down from government work, a criminal probe by the Australian Federal Police over the matter and an effective ban on future work by the Finance Department.
The main focus will be on the Greens, who have signalled they still intend to seek to publicly release a list of 36 PwC partners allegedly involved in the tax advice scandal.
A Tax Practitioners Board inquiry found in December 2022 that former partner Peter Collins repeatedly leaked confidential information with senior PwC staff about government plans to combat tax avoidance over three years, for PwC’s benefit. A 144-page document of PwC emails was released in Senate estimates on May 3, showing staff involved in plans to use the confidential information for commercial gain. All names, except Collins, were redacted.
Greens senator Barbara Pocock sought to table the list of names during a committee hearing on Friday, but it was decided that advice should be sought first. Richard Pye, clerk of the Senate, is preparing advice on whether Senate estimates can release the names without jeopardising the Australian Federal Police investigation launched last week.
“I have said that I respect the decision of the finance and public administration committee on Friday to refer the tabling of the names to the clerk for advice, but I believe that the Australian public should have access to this information at the earliest opportunity, and I am not alone in this belief,” Pocock said.
Labor senator Deborah O’Neill was concerned about the motives of whoever provided the mystery list with no one able to verify its provenance. “A list from an unverified and unidentified source of 36 names is something, but it is not the list that PwC must make public,” she said.
O’Neill expressed concern that this could be an attempt to get the legal cover of parliamentary privilege for the 36 people on the list, to protect them from any future court action.