Amanda Stoker (Queensland, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank colleagues in the Senate chamber for the way that they have approached this small but important change to the way that the Freedom of Information Act and the Archives Act will operate in relation to information that's provided to the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, which, as we know, is being led by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Jenkins. The review has been established to build an understanding of the culture of Commonwealth Parliamentary workplaces, with the aim of building a safe and a respectful workplace in which all staff are able to do their work, be their best and have clear and effective mechanisms to prevent and address bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault.

I hear what's been raised by senators in the course of their contributions, and, given that we may not have the time for a committee stage, I may take a moment now to address those concerns. In relation to the concern raised by Senator Patrick that the terms of the Archives and Other Legislation Amendment Bill are cast in language that could be interpreted to be wide enough to encompass a government submission, I offer a commitment on behalf of the government that we intend to release publicly any government submission that is made, subject of course to removing the private information of people who are complainants or victims and that might be sensitive in that nature. But, in terms of providing submissions on behalf of government departments or members of the government itself, that is information we are prepared to provide.

In relation to the concern raised by Senator Waters, I acknowledge the concern about the breadth of the language that's used and would like to put on the record that it is not the government's intention to read that language in a way that would be so sweeping as to make the report itself secret. It is our intention to make very clear the outcomes of the report and make public the recommendations. We will have an opportunity to see in a public way the interim report and the interim recommendations in July and, of course, there will be a public release of the final report come November. There's an intention to deal with this in the open, clear air, and I trust that that will satisfy the senators and their concerns.

The review's terms of reference include understanding the experiences of current and former staff and parliamentarians with respect to a safe and respectful workplace, and this is an important part of the review. So the purpose of this bill is to make sure that people can come forward to the independent review and provide personal information with complete confidence that that information will not be released to others without their permission. That's an important thing if we're going to give people who work here the confidence they need to be able to come forward and share what may well be very delicate, sensitive, traumatic or personal information.

The Australian Human Rights Commission is subject in ordinary terms to the Freedom of Information Act, and that means that ordinarily it can use exemptions under the act to seek to prevent the release of some personal information, but it can't guarantee to us unequivocally that ordinarily that information would not be released now or into the future. So the purpose of this bill is to fix that very problem so that we can give a very clear assurance to anyone who comes forward that privacy can be maintained if that's their wish. Of course the government is concerned that the information that could be provided to the review may well be sensitive and personal in nature and that it may have serious consequences for the health and wellbeing of the individuals involved, were it to be released without permission. Assurance about the protection of that information and those who are providing submissions to the review is really important to making sure we get the maximum amount of contribution from the people who work in this place and those who have done so in the past. It's worth noting that amendments to the act of a similar nature were made for private sessions in relation to the child sexual abuse royal commission. It's something of an analogy. It's sensitive information and we want to make sure that it's treated with the kind of respect that's necessary to ensure people come forward.

So I thank the chamber for their willingness to entertain this bill, particularly at this time in the week. It has been something on which the government has acted from the very beginning of this week. Of course, these things take time to put together. It is great to see all of the parties and senators in this chamber prepared to do what's necessary to get it done.

It's also worth noting that the bill has the consequence that it will exempt all documents given to, or received by, the independent review as well as documents that are brought into existence by the review, with the exception of the matters for which I have given undertakings.

The further matter I would draw the chamber's attention to is that in relation to the Archives Act the bill will increase the open access period for Commonwealth records that contain the information from the independent review for 99 years. It will prevent accelerated open or special access during this period to make sure we are fulsomely and for the long term protecting the privacy of the people who have the courage to come forward and contribute to the review. I commend the bill to the Senate and thank all senators for their willingness to support a bill of this importance.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.