Rex Patrick (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 (AIC Act) establishes three independent statutory office holders:

(A) the Information Commissioner,

(B) the Freedom of Information (FOI) Commissioner, and

(C) the Privacy Commissioner,

(ii) paragraphs 11(5) (a) and (b) and paragraphs 12(5) (a) and (b) of the AIC Act describe the independence of each Commissioner,

(iii) in the six months following the Royal Assent to the AIC Act, three commissioners were appointed to the three office holder's positions,

(iv) since the unsuccessful attempt by the Abbott Government to abolish the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, two commissioners have left office and have not been replaced,

(v) currently Mr Timothy Pilgrim fills the statutory position of the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, and the position of FOI Commissioner is vacant on account of Mr Pilgrim not holding the legal qualifications required in section 14 of the AIC Act, and

(vi) the AIC Act requires the appointment of three independent statutory office holders and the Government is constitutionally bound to maintain and execute the laws of the land and uphold the will of the Parliament; and

(b) calls on the Government to immediately commence the process of appointing an independent Privacy Commissioner and an independent FOI Commissioner, in accordance with the AIC Act.

Notice given 28 November 2017

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Rex Patrick (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is clear from the law reports that served as the genesis to the Australian Information Commissioner Act, the explanatory memorandum, the minister's second reading speech and the act itself that there are supposed to be three independent commissioners in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. It is the will of the parliament. The Constitution requires the government to give effect to the laws of the land. It's not for the government to choose which laws it will and will not give effect to.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government does not support the motion. Contrary to paragraph (a)(vi) of the motion, the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 does not require the appointment of three people to fill the three statutory offices under the act. The Australian Information Commissioner, Mr Timothy Pilgrim PSM, can and does perform the functions of the FOI Commissioner. As Mr Pilgrim himself said in Senate estimates on 28 February this year:

The advice I gave government was that I had believed that the role could be done by one person. The appointment of a further statutory office holder would be an unnecessary drain on the office of the Australian Information Commissioner's resources.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor supports transparency in government. Labor established the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and signed Australia up to the open government partnership. In contrast, those opposite, in their appalling first budget, cut off funding to the OAIC beyond the end of that year but they failed to get crossbench support to abolish the office.

In government, Labor introduced reforms to strengthen Commonwealth freedom of information laws. In contrast, the record of those opposite on FOI has been reprehensible, as demonstrated by Senator Brandis's desperate attempts over three years to circumvent FOI law in order to keep his diary secret. If Senator Brandis had any respect for laws that he is supposed to oversee or the principles of transparency and accountability, the OAIC would be properly resourced and this motion would not be necessary.

Question agreed to.