Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

Today in question time Minister Cash made imputations that I had improper motives and she personally reflected on my conduct as a senator. That is highly disorderly. I indicated previously on 14 September—when I also made a personal explanation against allegations by this minister of my alleged improper motives with Luke Collier—that I had asked questions not of Mr Collier but of Fair Work Building and Construction. The questions I asked in the estimates hearing were not about Mr Collier's conduct but about whether or not Fair Work Building and Construction and its director, Mr Hadgkiss, had breached its obligations under the Privacy Act by publishing Mr Collier's criminal history in a media release on 8 October 2014.

During my previous explanation, I indicated that, no matter who they are and what their personal history may be, the citizens of this country have a right to the protection of the law that includes the protections provided under the Privacy Act 1988. And, if it appears that a Commonwealth agency has trampled on the legal protections to which a person is entitled, then it is my duty as a senator to ensure that that agency is held to account.

Following what I considered to be unsatisfactory answers given by Mr Hadgkiss at the estimates hearing, and on notice, I wrote to the Privacy Commissioner on 5 February 2015 asking that he investigate Fair Work Building and Construction's personal information handling practises and whether the publication of Mr Collier's personal information in a media release was for an authorised purpose.

In a letter dated 20 February 2015, the Privacy Commissioner advised me that he would not open a commissioner-initiated investigation or conduct an assessment on the matter but he did indicate:

It appears likely that the disclosure in the media release was for a secondary purpose. Whether the secondary purpose was authorised by the law would depend on the facts of the particular case and whether the disclosure was authorised by the Fair Work Building and Construction legislation.

In order for the matter to be taken any further, it would have been up to Mr Collier to take action. I don't care one way or another whether he did or did not do so. My concern is that Commonwealth agencies comply with the law. Given recent developments in relation to a reckless breach of the law by Mr Nigel Hadgkiss, I believe that my concerns about his agency's compliance with the law in 2014 were justified, just as they are now. I also want to indicate that I have never defended Mr Collier or his conduct and I never will. I have never defended criminals, and my record in my public life demonstrates this. It's about time this minister stopped the attacks that are in breach of standing orders—

An honourable senator interjecting—

and she should be held for account for breaching standing orders and continue to raise an issue which is quite untruthful.