Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

One survey that I am aware of indicates there are 263,700 Australians that do know that Work Choices is working for their benefit and for their families. The Work Choices communication and education campaign is a work in progress. The campaign, including associated tracking research, is continuing and will run through until at least late 2007. It is general policy adopted by all governments of all persuasions, state and federal, that while a communication campaign is still active no campaign material, including strategy documents and research findings, are released publicly. As I understand it, that is the basis of the department’s decision to defer release of tracking research reports under the Freedom of Information Act until after an evaluation of the Work Choices communication and education campaign is finalised and considered by the government’s Ministerial Committee on Government Communications. This is expected to occur in late 2007.

The tracking research reports will be released once the campaign concludes. Freedom of information applications dealt with by the department are a matter for the department. It is therefore not appropriate that I comment in any detail about the matter. However, I do note that the freedom of information applicant in this matter, Mr Davis, chose not to exercise his right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal the department’s decision to defer release of the tracking research reports—and undoubtedly the reason he did not appeal was that he fully understands the reason why and he had no ground to appeal, which of course should be taken on board by the honourable senator.