Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

This urgency motion, in truth, deals with the lack of probity under the Howard government and, in particular, the failure of the former Minister for Ageing, the honourable Senator Santo Santoro, to comply with the requirements of the Register of Senators’ Interests. The actions of the honourable Senator Santoro bring to light a wider and worrying trend under this government. It is a trend that we senators in the chamber know only too well, it being the reduction in avenues for scrutiny and accountability.

From the moment the government took control of the Senate, from 1 July 2005, the Howard government drew the curtains, turned off the lights and threw away the keys on scrutiny. Why? It was so that it could begin to govern true to its form: away from the watchful eyes of the opposition, the media and interested members of the public. That was the true intent. In terms of public policy, the manifestation of this cloak of secrecy is best exemplified by extreme industrial relations. Witness how the government refused to provide statistical analysis of the AWAs. This government wants to claim how great AWAs are, how much better off workers are under them. Yet it will not even reveal the statistics to back this up.

We have all heard of the expression ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’, stemming from the common observation that, with sufficient manipulation, statistics can be made to say anything. What this government does do is not provide transparency. It keeps its secret records. I will tell you what it says. This government sends in its expert spin doctors to spin what it needs to, whatever positive message—