Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

PRESIDENT (): Pursuant to order I call on Minister Gallagher to provide an explanation.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the past hour I have been made aware that Senator Smith no longer wants to proceed with this item on the daily program, and I take the opportunity to update the chamber that these Senate orders for the production of documents were provided on Friday 13 September, meaning that the order was complied with.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I would like to speak to the attendance of the minister. While one of the OPDs, 306, in regard to ACCC monitoring, was complied with in full, the second OPD, 307, in regard to GST documents between the Treasurer and state and territory governments was only complied with in part, and the Treasurer sought a PII claim in regard to one particular document, given the implications for Commonwealth-state federal relations. I would like to speak to that.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, you're entitled to move to take note of that response.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the statement.

There is an important narrative that has been built by this government, built by the decisions it's taking in regard to the compliance with orders made by this Senate for production of documents. Just to be clear, when an order for the production of documents is agreed to by the Senate, it is agreed to by the Senate in a vote, with a majority vote. The narrative that this government is choosing to create—it could create a more positive narrative—is one of secrecy and lack of accountability.

That should be particularly concerning, because in August last year the Prime Minister, Mr Albanese himself, said to Australians that the Australian people deserve accountability and transparency, not secrecy. That was Prime Minister Albanese's commitment to the Australian people. But the actions of the government in this Senate in not comply with OPDs, or complying with them in such a tardy and overdue way, undermines the authority of the Senate, and it undermines the ability for opposition, independent and crossbench senators to do an important part of the Senate's work, which is one of review and inquiry and scrutiny.

So, as I said to the Deputy President, this matter involved two orders for the production of documents. The first was in regard to correspondence between the Treasurer and the ACCC in regard to the ACCC's monitoring regime for airlines in Australia. I thank the government for delivering that OPD in full. But it was four weeks late. The second OPD, which was agreed to by the Senate, and the minister had to attend because it had not been previously complied with within the time that was required, is in regard to conversations about the GST distribution system between the Treasurer and his state and territory colleagues. There's probably no issue in our country, no public policy issue that causes more angst, that requires more transparency, than how GST revenues get distributed. After a very long and protracted debate we got a better arrangement in 2018 under the former government in regard to how those GST distribution arrangements would work. We now know that those GST distribution arrangements agreed to in 2018 are actively being reviewed by Treasurer Chalmers and his state and territory colleagues, but they're not letting us see the detail.

How do we know that those GST distributions are under active discussion now? Because of a board of treasurers meeting and a board of treasurers correspondence. The Board of Treasurers, which is the board of all the state and territory treasuries—not the Commonwealth federal financial relations committee, which is chaired by the Treasurer, but the Board of Treasurers—has been corresponding with the Treasurer, through the Council on Federal Financial Relations, on how to progress with further GST distribution reform and the government is hiding those documents. There's one document in particular that it's not allowing us to see. It's that document which Treasurer Jim Chalmers talks about in his letter of 10 October to Senator Gallagher. In that letter, he says, 'I will claim public interest immunity over one further document within the scope of the order on the grounds that it would disclose the deliberations of the Council of Federal Financial Relations and adversely affect Commonwealth/state relations.' GST reform is being actively discussed, and the government doesn't want to show its hand.

Question agreed to.