Bob Sercombe (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Overseas Aid and Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to join with the minister in briefly extending condolences on the death of Steve Irwin. I did not know him personally, like the minister did, but from his public persona he was certainly a larger-than-life character, and I am sure that all Australians will feel his loss.

A number of times over recent years I have raised privacy issues affecting Telstra. These are particularly important matters because of Telstra’s sheer size and also because of its extraordinary technological capacities and the potential for those capacities, in some circumstances, to infringe on the rights of other Australians and on privacy considerations. In the past I have referred to a policy document from Telstra released in December 2003 called Employee Monitoring and Surveillance Procedure. Frankly, the data that this internal document of Telstra gives them the authority to collect about its employees are beyond the pale—racial or ethnic origins, political opinions, religious beliefs or affiliations, sexual preferences or practices, and the list goes on. I think that is reflective of an authoritarian culture within Telstra and of a culture that is not sufficiently reflective of the importance of privacy.

Over recent times I have also referred to the circumstances of Ms Kimberly Sund, a constituent of mine and a Telstra employee, who has been involved in a fairly long-running dispute with Telstra. My purpose in rising tonight is not to immediately canvass her circumstances but, nonetheless, to raise some issues that flow from them. I have written to Minister Coonan on Ms Sund’s behalf, without satisfactory results, concerning the extraordinary approach that Telstra have taken, particularly arising out of Administrative Appeals Tribunal proceedings involving Ms Sund, where the AAT has determined that it requires Telstra to release all documents concerning Ms Sund’s case, but this continues to be challenged by Telstra. One has to wonder, in this circumstance, where a judicial body has made a ruling, what Telstra have to hide. Maybe what they have to hide are documents relating to their apparent belief that Ms Sund has had the audacity to communicate with her member of parliament—in this case, me—seeking some advice in relation to achieving a more just set of outcomes for the circumstances in which she found herself.

It is quite interesting: I spoke in the parliament last on this matter on 31 May; Telstra had a crisis meeting on 3 June to discuss this matter. We know about this because, whilst Telstra is resisting the release of all documents, it had to release a number of documents which include diary notes from a senior Telstra manager. On 3 June, he said:

Later that day I attended a meeting in Shamini’s office. ... This meeting was to discuss what course of action that Telstra can take in relation to the disclosure of information to the Member of Parliament.

That is, me. It continues:

Sonia Millen gave numerous options and the attached risks to those, and advised she will document them and will forward a detailed copy of them via email.

An email, in fact, has been referred to elsewhere in material released, and it would appear, to me at least, that it is precisely the contents of that email that Telstra is defying the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on and declining to release. I do not know why it is declining to do that, but possibly it will reflect a contemptuous attitude of Telstra’s management towards people who have the audacity to approach their member of parliament. I think all members of the House are aware of the possible implications of that.

In addition to those diary notes, Telstra has produced two documents prepared by employees of Allianz Australia insurance, which is its WorkCover insurer. Those documents claim that the particular people who processed Ms Sund’s matter within Allianz were not aware of the existence of this particular email of 7 June. That is very strange because it was the Allianz file that was produced for Ms Sund that in fact contained the diary notes that I have referred to previously. In the shortness of time I cannot go on at this point but I will in future. I have to say that, if Telstra treats its own employees this way, what hope have the rest of the punters got. (Time expired)