Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, Minister Wong. Over a year ago, I called for an audit of the office of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, which would have been the first since its creation, after 20 years. The audit was blocked, but there was a review. Justice Duncan Kerr conducted the review and delivered the report to Minister Marles in March this year, and the minister has sat on it since. It is clear that Defence and the government have become obstructionist and didn't want the public and the veterans to have the report. The government continually told me the report would be released once consultations were complete. Minister, after six months, how many consultations have been completed?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to Senator Lambie for her question. She and I have had a number of discussions about this. I understand that the government provided that the 20-year review to which she refers would have the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide form part of its consideration and final recommendations. I understand that both the 20-year review of the IGADF and, obviously, the royal commission have examined the role of the IGADF and that this role was being examined by both parties. The advice to me is that the government had indicated it would release the report into the IGADF review soon after the release of the royal commission, and that is what the government has done. My recollection is that the Minister for Defence's ministerial statement in relation to the latter was last week.

The advice to me is that the reason for this was to respond to both reports in a holistic way and a desire to coordinate our response about what the future of the IGADF looks like as we respond both to the review and to the royal commission's final report. Obviously, the government tabled the report, as I discussed with you earlier today.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just have a point of order. I simply asked how many consultations have been completed. I never actually got that.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was also a significant preamble, which the minister is entitled to address.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll take advice about the consultation process in relation specifically to the IGADF, but the point I was seeking to make—and, if I was unclear, I'm sorry—was that the government's thinking was that both this review and the royal commission were going to look at the role of the IGADF and so the government sought to try to deal with both issues concurrently.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, first supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I have been told by Minister Marles, Minister Gallagher and yourself that the government was consulting with stakeholders, but the only stakeholder I can see that seems to have been consulted is Defence's media team, because, let's be honest, it's in damage control. Could you also give me a full list of those who participated in these so-called 'consultations'—unless you know who they are off the cuff today?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, I think these were issues considered in the context of the royal commission, but I certainly will get advice and come back to you if I can.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, second supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After more than half an hour yesterday debating in this place why I couldn't have the IGADF report, it was found on the royal commission's website—in other words, it was publicly available. Twenty minutes later, it vanished. It turns out it was deleted. The government says that it was accidentally uploaded. I say that's rubbish and that that'll be proven. Minister, who gave the orders to remove the IGADF report from the royal commission's website yesterday?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I say, Senator Lambie, that at the time we were debating this—I think you and I had some conversations about the matter being tabled soon—I wasn't aware, and I don't think any of us were, that the report had gone onto the commission website. I am not familiar with the sequence by which that decision occurred. I assume these were decisions that the royal commission made, but I will get further advice about how that process came about.