Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The truth is very ugly. Staff within the department and Border Force operations, and contractors, deserve to know that they have the backing of this parliament and the law in terms of a public interest test. The amendment I have circulated deals very specifically with that. It is very simple. It is not saying that everyone can go and blow their whistles as much as they want; it is saying that if there is any type of offence then it needs to be tested against the public interest. That is a decision that the courts should make. It is not a decision for the minister. When the former minister, Minister Morrison, headed this department he was renowned for covering up. This amendment is important to ensure that there is an independent arbiter, and it must be the courts that stand up for the right of the public service and the right of the Australian people to know what is in the public interest and what information their government is trying to hide from them. I move amendment (1) on sheet 7704.

(1) Clause 42, page 35 (after line 13), after paragraph (1)(b), insert:

  (ba) the making of the record, or the disclosure, causes, is likely to cause, or is intended to cause, harm to a public interest.