Government Chief Executive Mark Lewin has denied any attempt to prevent staff from giving evidence to the whistleblowing committee.
Speaking before the Select Committee on Whistleblowing Policy Implementation, Mr Lewin was questioned by Gary Clueit MLC about an online article claiming a government employee had received an email perceived as a warning.
Mr Lewin said he was “not aware of any attempts anywhere to try and prevent that”.
He said the committee would know he had written expressing “concerns about public evidence sessions in principle from any serving or past members” regarding the potential impact on individuals and processes.
However, he made clear this did not extend to discouraging participation.
“I absolutely would welcome everyone coming forward in terms of the committee and have never sought to do anything to the contrary,” Mr Lewin said.
He added earlier in the hearing that he spoke for the whole chief officer group in welcoming the committee’s work and taking evidence “from as many people as possible”.