Assistant Federal Treasurer Helen Coonan is being accused of being a little bit hasty when she formed the federal/state Ipp committee on tort reform. Now Victoria, the ACT and SA are refusing to pay their share of the committee’s expenses, saying Senator Coonan announced the committee and the terms of reference without talking to them. Or, in one case, not talking to them early enough.

South Australian Treasurer Kevin Foley said he only got a letter about the committee the day before it was announced.

Senator Coonan was ignoring the issue yesterday, telling Sunrise Exchange News it was “disappointing some states are prepared to take the benefits of a principled review of tort law reform to help in their own deliberations without contributing financially”.

“However, the states are taking steps in the right direction and I would encourage them to continue to work toward a nationally consistent approach to tort law reform.”