Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think everyone in this place can agree that the creation of the Australian Senate committee system some 51 years ago has established a benchmark whereby Australians can have their say in the democratic process through access to the Senate. We are going to consider at some stage in this chamber motions to try and cancel the usual inquiries that these committees would make. It is perfectly reasonable that, where taxpayer funds are expended, the Senate would take a role in ensuring that those taxpayer funds are expended properly or that the agency is adhering to its legislative duties, and that is exactly what the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee is proposing to do when it looks at the complaints handling function of the ABC and SBS.

People have said, 'Why do you need to have this inquiry when the ABC itself has said that it would have its own?' There are effectively two key reasons. The first reason is that the Senate can afford witnesses legal privilege, and there are people who want to come forward who want to have legal privilege because they are afraid of doing this without privilege, because of the financial burden. The ABC has spent $26 million in the past four years on legal fees alone. The second point is that people want to have their say at a public hearing. The idea that the Senate would deny Australians their say over a very run-of-the-mill process, which is the complaints handling function of a broadcasting corporation, a public broadcaster and which has nothing to do with editorial independence, would set a shocking precedent. We should be committed to always maximising opportunities for Australians to have their say about public institutions and how they are run.