Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Wow! What are we actually taking note of today? We are taking note of the pathetic explanation that was given by Minister Gallagher, on behalf of Minister Wong, in relation to why the Albanese government prepared a document that, as we know, has been provided to public servants and sets out for them (a) how not to answer questions in Senate estimates and (b), worse than that, gives them the actual suggested draft response.

In all my years in this place—and I'm going on 16 years in this place—I don't think I have ever seen a bigger flouting of democracy by a prime minister and a government. Can you honestly imagine if a coalition government had prepared such a document? This is not a rumour. This is not a suggestion. The document is right here. We have in the Senate a document provided by the Prime Minister's office for all of the Australian public to see.

Senator Waters is right: if it's provided on behalf of the Prime Minister's office then quite frankly it's provided by the Prime Minister himself to the apolitical public service. I say 'apolitical' with tongue in cheek, because it's anything but when you've been provided a document by the Prime Minister of Australia's office that tells you how you should and should not answer questions in Senate estimates.

Mr Albanese talked a big game on transparency prior to the last election. Mr Albanese actually said to the Australian people, in fact, that it was one of the reasons they should vote him in. He said to the Australian people that if they elected him and the Australian Labor Party to office he and his ministers would deliver transparency, integrity and accountability in every single thing they did. This is a government that in relation to so much of what it said prior to the election came falsely to power on the promise of a new era of transparency.

Since that time, since that day in May 2022, it has done everything in its power to avoid scrutiny and transparency. But did anyone in this place ever think that Mr Albanese, his office and the Australian Labor Party would draft a document and provide it to agencies, who are there to provide frank and fearless advice and to answer questions put to them in Senate estimates in an honest and responsible way, a document that says to them, 'If you are asked this particular question, under the Albanese government we don't actually believe in transparency. We certainly do not believe in providing the opposition with answers to questions they are asking on behalf of the Australian taxpayer, and we want you to say this.'

For example: 'How many meetings has the secretary or agency head had with the ministers in their portfolio since whatever date?' You would have thought the secretary could flip through their diary and say, 'I have met with the minister once a week. I have met with the minister once a month.' Instead, this is what the Albanese government says its secretaries or departmental offices should say: 'The secretary regularly meets with portfolio ministers and, at times, ministers outside the portfolio.'

You've got to be kidding me. Seriously? Yes Minister or Yes, Prime Minister could not have scripted this, because it doesn't happen in countries like Australia. We are proud of our democracy. Mr Albanese, with a secret document, has done everything he can to undermine it. Shame on Mr Albanese.