Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

Let's deal with the issue of registries. From my perspective, as a Queensland senator, it is not about what the view of the CEO of the ART has with respect to where registries should be located; it is about the Australian people having access to the Administrative Review Tribunal. It's about the Australian people because there are decisions are impacting millions of Australians on a whole raft of matters—social security payments, veterans' matters, immigration matters, taxation matters, child support matters and NDIS matters—which go on appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal.

It shouldn't be a question of what the CEO considers with respect to where the registries should be located. Every single Australian in every state and every territory should have reasonable access to government services, and that includes access to the Administrative Review Tribunal registries. That means that, if you're a veteran in Tasmania and you've got a veterans affairs issue that you want to take on appeal to the ART, you should be able to access a registry in Tasmania. Indeed, this point was first alluded to by Senator McKim as a senator for Tasmania: the original bill did not contain a requirement that there would be a registry so that people impacted by veterans decisions, NDIS decisions and child support decisions could have reasonable access to a registry in their home jurisdiction.

That isn't a matter for the Chief Executive Officer of the Administrative Review Tribunal. It's a matter for this Senate to make sure we pass legislation that provides access to such a basic service as a right of appeal with respect to government decisions which have great significance upon their lives. Every single Australian should have access to a registry of the Administrative Review Tribunal because every single Australian deserves access to a process whereby they can have decisions made which have a huge impact on their lives and their families' lives. Every single Australian deserves access to that review process. If you don't have access to a registry within driving distance—or within a reasonable distance—where you can lodge paperwork and get some guidance and if you don't have an avenue where you can go and get your appeal heard, then you're going to be deprived of full access to the tribunal. It shouldn't matter whether you live in Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra or wherever; you should have access to a registry of the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Minister, can you please explain to me on what possible basis the Chief Executive Officer of the ART could make a decision that there shouldn't be a registry in every state and every territory of Australia? On what possible basis could that decision be made?