Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I refer to an order for the production of documents that was made in the last sitting session seeking documents relating to promises made by contractors in respect of Australian industry content for our naval shipbuilding program. It sought access to the promises made to Naval Group on the Attack class submarine, to BAE on the Hunter class frigates, to Luerssen on the Arafura class OPVs and to Austal in relation to the Guardian class Pacific patrol vessels.

The OPD relates directly to the terms of reference associated with an inquiry that is being conducted by the Senate Economic References Committee at the moment into Australia's sovereign naval shipbuilding capability. The claim made by the minister is that these documents go to commercial issues. But, if we look at the resolutions of the Senate and the rulings of the Senate in the past, we find that, unless a matter relates to the revealing of intellectual property or the revealing of costing information or that it would interfere with a tender, then the immunity claim should not stand.

I also point out that one of the documents that Senator Gallacher requested be tabled to the economics committee is a document which I sought under FOI. I sought it under FOI, and the department outright refused to give any of it to me. It went to the Information Commissioner, and it trickled out a little bit more. In the end, the Information Commissioner ruled that I could have all of it. So we have a department trying to prevent this Senate from having access to the document that would enable it to look and see if the department is, in fact, maximising Australian industry content in its shipbuilding programs. That's a very proper thing for the Senate to do. Unfortunately, it's been denied to us because of a public interest immunity claim.

I'm now basically talking to the Senate to say that this is inappropriate. I think it sets a really poor standard. It's part of the erosion of accountability that goes along with the defunding of the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General's audits were dropped from 48 down to 42 this year and will eventually drop to 38, with FOI being fettered by a lack of resources within the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and with a continual denial of OPDs—the returning of orders for the production of documents—to the Senate. In the last session of parliament, I simply showed all of the times that the government had denied access to a document to the Senate that I, as Mr Rex Patrick, had then got under FOI. That is a shocking state of affairs. I ask the Senate to consider the letter that has been tabled by the Minister for Defence and that we revisit that. Over the next day or so, I will work to put a motion to the Senate to, basically, insist upon the delivery of those documents. I might point out that I'm asking for those documents to be delivered to the Economics Committee and not to be tabled in the Senate, so it will be for the Economics Committee to decide whether or not anything will be released. Those committees are very responsible in relation to sensitive information. I'll leave it at that. I will be pursuing this as we move forward.