Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

After all, we do have secret ballots in this country. People are entitled to maintain the confidentiality of those matters. That concern might grow further if the union came back to them and started using all the information that they had collected without the person’s permission to follow the tactics that are outlined in the ACTU handbook and to lobby them about their voting intentions.

There are concerns about the way in which unions are using their members’ personal details. I want to inform members that the Privacy Commissioner is giving consideration to starting an own-motion inquiry in relation to the ACTU tactics on this matter. The Privacy Commissioner is an independent statutory officer. She makes her own decisions on these matters. But the Australian Electoral Commission examination relating to the handbook might provide some information which could be of particular interest to her. I would remind the community and members of unions generally that if their union seeks information from them they are entitled to know why and they should make sure that it is necessary for the union’s functions. If people believe their personal details are being misused in this way by an organisation that they belong to, they should make their complaints known to the Privacy Commissioner.

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