Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   notes:

     (i)   on 20 May 2009, Mr Craig Thomson MP wrote to the then Minister for Employment Participation (Mr O'Connor) supporting Central Coast Group Training's (CCGT) proposal for the construction of a new Youth Skills and Employment Centre for the Central Coast, New South Wales,

     (ii)   an Australian Labor Party statement, dated 20 July 2010, by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (Mr Albanese) and Mr Thomson concerning funding for the centre,

     (iii)   on 5 April 2011, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth (Mr Garrett) wrote to Mr Thomson stating that the Government was providing $2.7 million in funding towards the centre under the Community Infrastructure Grants Program,

     (iv)   on 16 June 2011, Wyong Council wrote to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, asking about confirmation or progress of the funding for the centre,

     (v)   on 8 July 2011, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) wrote to CCGT regarding the centre,

     (vi)   an extract from one of the documents provided under freedom of information (FOI) states that, on 20 July 2011 'Mr Craig Thomson wrote to Minister Garrett raising concerns about interaction between…and DEEWR',

     (vii)   on 25 August 2011, Senator Fierravanti-Wells submitted a FOI request to DEEWR requesting inter alia copies of all representations and advice between Mr Thomson and ministers, their offices and departments on applications for funding a jobs incubator (the Youth Skills and Employment Centre) at Wyong proposed by CCGT, including secondary references to such representations or advice,

     (viii)   that while documents were provided in response to that request, they were almost all in a redacted form with large portions of the documents exempted, and

     (ix)   that the documents were not disclosed inter alia because they contained "unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct or unlawful, negligent or improper conduct"; and

  (b)   orders that there be laid on the table by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, no later than 5 pm on Thursday, 22 March 2012, in an unredacted form:

     (i)   all documents pertaining to "unsubstantiated allegations" made by Mr Thomson to the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth and the former Minister for Employment Participation regarding CCGT, and

     (ii)   copies of all representations and advice between Mr Thomson and ministers, their offices and departments on applications for funding a jobs incubator (the Youth Skills and Employment Centre) at Wyong as proposed by CCGT, including secondary references to such representations or advice, including but not limited to the following:

  (A)   letter from Mr Thomson to the then Minister for Employment Participation dated 20 May 2009 re. CCGT, and

  (B)   letter from Mr Thomson to the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth dated 20 July 2011 re. CCGT and attachments thereto.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pursuant to contingent notice and at the request of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Abetz, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Senator Abetz moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to the Government’s failure to provide documents concerning the construction of a new Youth Skills and Employment Centre for the Central Coast.

This is an absolutely disgraceful move in this sad, sorry and sordid saga in relation to this job centre. The minister in his answer said that there had been 'usual communications'. If there are only 'usual communications', why are the Australian Labor Party and their alliance partners, the Greens, going to so much length to stifle debate on this and not produce these documents? That is the issue. What is this government hiding? I will tell you what they are hiding: they are protecting the member for Dobell. What hypocrisy! So much for the Greens. They will sit there day after day and prattle about transparency. You are all hypocrites, because today—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Fierravanti-Wells, you will need to withdraw that. That is unparliamentary.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw that.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They apply double standards.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz, they absolutely apply double standards. Yesterday, I was asking legitimate questions. Of course, we have copies of documents. There are all the matters that I have referred to in this chamber about this issue since August last year, and there are lots of documents, but all I got produced from this government was 44 folios, most of which were just blank pages. We know that Minister Garrett received correspondence from the member for Dobell, because on one little line that was unredacted it refers to Mr Thomson raising concerns about interaction between '…' and DEEWR. Who is '…'? We know who '…' is: it is CCGT. Of course, because the documents were denied to me because of unsubstantiated allegations, this is only a cover-up.

Debate interrupted.