Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

PAYNE () (): I'm pleased to speak today on this Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022, which is part of the government's response to the inquiry led by former High Court justice the Hon. Virginia Bell AC into the sorry events under the former government that came to light in August last year where the former prime minister, the Member for Cook, had secretly sworn himself into several ministries—namely, Health; Finance; Industry, Science, Energy and Resources; Treasury; and Home Affairs—on top of his appointment to administer, of course, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

This was an unthinkable breach of trust of his own ministers, this parliament and, most importantly and most concerningly, of the Australian people, who were not aware of this. They did not know that the Prime Minister was also sworn in to administer these critically important portfolios. It is a sorry day for our democracy when we have to have this discussion. This parliament was right to censure the former prime minister, the member for Cook, earlier this year, because this should never have happened. This should never have happened because people who are elected to this place to represent their communities and, even more so, the people who are appointed to ministries and to be Prime Minister of this country should have at their heart a respect for democracy and for conventions of our system that enable ministers, governments and members to be held accountable.

To be honest, I don't take pleasure in giving a speech like this. I don't take pleasure in again looking at the behaviour of the former Prime Minister and what an absolute disgrace it was for the people of this country to have a prime minister who consistently showed disrespect for the conventions of this place and its operations, and a complete contempt for the accountability that was required of a prime minister—a consistent failure to take responsibility for just about anything. We saw that in his response to the censure motion. Still there was no apology, there was no acceptance that it was the wrong thing to do and that it should never have happened—in fact, perhaps, it was the media's fault for not asking specifically if he had sworn himself secretly into other ministries.

I'm proud that we are a government, and that we have a prime minister, that takes these conventions seriously and respects the role of this parliament, which is essentially about the representation of the people of Australia, each of their electorates, in this place. It should be incumbent on us that people have put their trust in us to represent them, their needs and the issues that concern them in this place. That is what it should very simply be about for each of us here. The idea that this could happen—the idea that a prime minister could breach the trust of his very own colleagues, the very people he appointed to be in charge of those critical portfolios, that he could do this behind their backs—and for that to be secret from the parliament and the public is, frankly, disgraceful and unthinkable.

This bill is an important step, an important part of our government's response to the Bell inquiry, to ensure this never happens again. Essentially this bill will mean that when the Governor-General has appointed someone to a portfolio or made a change to that or revoked one of those positions this will be made public as soon as possible. That is a very important thing, and I am very pleased to speak in support of this today. Essentially, if the parliament does not know that someone is responsible for a portfolio, how can it hold that person to account? It can't. And how can a minister perform their role with any kind of integrity when they don't know the Prime Minister is also sworn into that role and does not trust them, which is an important part of the conventions and the way the Westminster system operates. This was an incredible thing that happened, and a sad, sorry chapter of Australian history. I'm pleased that this bill marks a quick response to this. We don't ever want to see this happen again.

The Bell inquiry was not a political witch-hunt. It was about finding out how this was able to happen, who knew about it and why it was able to happen, and how we can put things in place so that it never happens again—which is what this bill is part of doing.

When these matters came to light in August, they were referred to the Solicitor-General, Dr Stephen Donaghue KC. It was clear from his advice:

… the principles of responsible government are fundamentally undermined—

by the actions of the former government. As I say, a sad and sorry chapter of Australian history—one that will never happen again because we are putting in place additional checks and balances to ensure it can't.

It's little wonder that trust in our democracy is at all-time lows. That is very sad for most of us in this place who take democracy very seriously, for most of us in this place who are here because we believe in the power of democracy, of representation, of this parliament and of governments to make changes for the lives of Australians. That is why most people want to be in parliament and want to work for those changes on behalf of their constituents. The fact that a Prime Minister of this country had such disregard for those very principles was shocking. I know that this would never happen under our Prime Minister and our government, but we are looking to the future and are putting in place things that will prevent this ever happening again.

Some former prime ministers responded when they were asked how this could have happened. The reasoning was that we were in a crisis—the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an unprecedented time, but things have happened before that have meant that prime ministers and ministers have needed to be sworn in urgently. It can absolutely happen. It never required a Prime Minister to be secretly sworn in to other portfolios at the same time as being Prime Minister. That does not explain this at all. When asked about this, former prime minister John Howard said:

I don't think he should have done that. I don't think there was any need to do it, and I wouldn't have.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said:

I'm just not going to defend what was done. It is just highly unconventional, highly unorthodox and shouldn't have happened.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said:

This is sinister stuff. This is secret government. This is one of the most appalling things I've ever heard in our federal government. I mean, the idea that a Prime Minister would be sworn in to other ministries secretly is incredible.

We are pleased that the opposition support this change, because it is an important one. That is an important acknowledgement. As I said, I don't take great pleasure in raking over again the disregard of the former Prime Minister, the member for Cook, for the office of Prime Minister and this parliament. I think I spent more than enough time last term talking about these issues. Frankly, as a member of this parliament and as an Australian, it shocked me that time and time again he just failed to see his responsibility for the issues that were facing Australians. This is an incredible expression of that. I'm very pleased that our government has introduced this bill and is taking steps to ensure that this parliament and the office of Prime Minister and ministries will continue to be accountable and that the Australian public will know when changes are made.

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