Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

Amazement? He agrees with me so much as to the government’s arrant disregard for precedent in this place. I will finish on this point. Either the department and/or the minister in this committee are blatantly disregarding the procedures of the Senate and the precedent of the Senate or they seriously misapprehend what is appropriate to be asked and answered in estimates committees. I am going to give Senator Abetz the benefit of the doubt rather than suggest that he is blatantly disregarding precedent, and I will say that there obviously was a serious misapprehension on his part and on the part of the officers of the department.

Before the next estimates round, perhaps Senator Abetz might take the time to read the Clerk’s advice, which is fairly lengthy, and discuss this matter with the secretary of the department to ensure that the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in estimates provides answers that are consistent with the parameters of the procedures of the Senate and with the approach that most other departments take, and that it does not continue to refuse to answer questions as to timing on grounds which, as the Clerk has set out, are really inappropriate in terms of the basis of the objection put. I do hope that Senator Abetz takes the opportunity to inform himself about the appropriateness of these answers. No doubt this issue will arise again. I hope also that the department will take the opportunity to inform itself of the Clerk’s advice and the appropriate procedures in estimates committees.