The key points are temporarily unavailable. You can still read the full Story below.
Main Points
Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath says a weekly post-Cabinet press conference does not necessarily have to be a fixed arrangement, as government ministers can make themselves available to the media through other avenues.
Padarath was responding to a reporter who questioned when regular post-Cabinet media conferences would return, noting that journalists have been calling for greater opportunities to speak directly with ministers about issues affecting their respective sectors.
The minister said he was not ruling out the return of the post-Cabinet briefing, but argued that it should not be viewed as the only way for journalists to access members of the Government.
“I’m not saying that it will not return,” Padarath said. “But what I am also saying is that there are new forms of making ourselves available to media houses and media personnel to be interviewed.”
He pointed to his own availability to reporters and said several other ministers have also been making themselves accessible.
“So it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to be cast in stone that there has to be a post-cab press conference every week,” he said.
Padarath also referenced recent comments by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the issue, saying he had taken heed of them.
The exchange then shifted to a wider concern over media access when the reporter told Padarath that they had been blocked by several ministers.
The reporter said being blocked puts journalists at a disadvantage when attempting to hold ministers accountable, seek information or get assistance on behalf of members of the public. The reporter also complained that messages sent to some ministers sometimes receive no response.
Padarath did not dismiss the concern.
Instead, he said he would take the matter to his colleagues for consideration.
“It is something that I will raise in our caucus and seek guidance on,” Padarath said.
His comments leave open the possibility of the post-Cabinet media conference returning, while signalling that the Government may not view a fixed weekly briefing as necessary for ministers to engage with the media.
