Mr. Robert Watt:

As the Senator said, the fact is that when a case is taken against the State, there could be several co-defendants. For purposes of administrative efficiency more than anything else, the practice, which has been confirmed as the correct practice over a long period, has been for these various pieces of information to be collated and shared. It is really to ensure that in the main we can progress and settle the cases quickly or mediate quickly and get things run to the satisfaction of both parties, both the State and the plaintiffs. That is, therefore, a long-standing practice. It makes administrative sense and has been confirmed to be lawful. There are various issues around that but it is the only practical way that I can see us managing these cases effectively, or else-----