Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the decision of the federal Labor government to legislate to ban gag clauses in Commonwealth contracts for the not-for-profit sector. Disgracefully, the previous coalition government attacked the rights and legitimate role of the not-for-profit sector and diminished its capacity to represent and advocate for its members by imposing a gag clause. In 2008 this federal Labor government removed the gag clauses imposed by the Howard coalition government that restricted the sector from engaging in policy and political debate.

Why do we need to legislate this change? Why do we need to pass federal law? We need to pass federal law because the Campbell Newman government in Queensland, not content with cutbacks of $380 million in an assault on vital community services, not content with taking away funding of $259.7 million over four years for projects and services, is actually imposing a gag order on community services so that these vital not-for-profit agencies cannot defend themselves and advocate for the causes in which they believe and the people whom they represent.

In fact, last week we had to step in to provide an additional $200,000 to the Queensland Working Women's Service to stay afloat after the Campbell Newman government cut its funding. I read today some comments made by a spokeswoman for Lawrence Springborg, Minister for Health in Queensland. This is how she justified what the state government is doing. This is what she said in relation to health funding deals and the gag clause:

If an organisation's existence is based on a majority of funding from Queensland Health, then we [the LNP state government] would expect that organisation to conduct itself with the political impartiality of any other government sector, given it is majority funded by the taxpayer …

What bullyboy tactics! How repugnant is that? How fearful are they of free speech? Indeed, it smacks of censorship and authoritarianism. The inappropriately named Liberal National Party government in Queensland are most illiberal when it comes to this matter.

I had a look at what these clauses say and do. The Queensland clauses are very broad in scope. They prohibit even indirect advocacy, in terms of references to other sites. They prohibit organisations from speaking about federal, as well as state, political matters. In fact, they are trying to protect us, but we on this side of the chamber in the federal government do not need protection in relation to this. The clauses also include an infringement on the freedom of political communication guaranteed under the Constitution and decided by the High Court of Australia. This is absolutely extraordinary. Not even the regime of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, in the dark days of the National Party, when several cabinet ministers went to jail, engaged in this type of reprehensible behaviour. It really is an extraordinary attack on free speech in my home state of Queensland. It smacks of censorship. It has all the trademarks of the kind of slash-and-burn coalition government that we are witnessing and that is being foisted on the people of Queensland.

In contrast, the federal Labor government have committed $3 billion to meet our share of the costs of Fair Work Australia's decision to raise the wages and entitlements of 150,000 of some of Australia's lowest paid workers in the social and community services sector. That has not been done by those opposite. What a contrast. We developed the first ever national compact between the government and the community sector, but we have seen an across-the-board impact from Campbell Newman's ruthless cuts.

Community services in my area are at risk. Organisations like Cerebral Palsy League, Lifeline, Legacy Club of Ipswich, SeniorNet Ipswich, Lowood and District Community Centre, Rosewood Community Centre, Leichardt Community Centre, Somerset Regional Council, Quest Care, Mission Australia, the Salvation Army and Relationships Australia, Ipswich—all are at risk because of what the Campbell Newman government has done in Queensland.

This is ominous stuff. This is the kind of censorship we see in Third World dictatorships and it is being foisted upon the Queensland public and the Queensland not-for-profit sector. So we have seen a number of voices today: Catholic Social Services Australia, Uniting Church Care and other organisations speaking out on behalf of Queenslanders. It is time those opposite did as well.

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