Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry, I'll withdraw that. There's been constructive rejection of crossbench contribution here. I would like to make the observation that I'm on the economics committee. Last term, we actually had a breach of confidentiality on the economics committee, and the only person who couldn't have done it is a member of the crossbench, because I wasn't present for that meeting. Members of both the major parties were. So, in that particular meeting—it was the RBA meeting. I'm saying this to a fellow member of that committee—oh, you weren't, actually, sorry; I'm confused, Gordon. But I think the point is made that, with the right selection of people, you can have a degree of confidence.

One final comment that I would like to make is actually about a broader issue on transparency. I note that in some of our partners, like the US, the committee for defence is a very public body as well as one that deals with matters of high security. I think we should consider that in this parliament, because defence should be more of a national conversation than it is, particularly in the times that we find ourselves. I think that the committee could act, in terms of how its hearings are developed and how it's held, as a way of opening the conversation with the Australian people about the needs and the priorities of our defence forces and how that affects and reflects the priorities and needs of the rest of our country. I think that is something that we should consider, because defence is not something in isolation; the country, including, particularly, businesses and also communities, are at the heart of national security. Therefore, they need to be engaged in this question of how we keep our country safe. I think they need to be aware, appropriately, of some of the challenges currently facing our country from a defence point of view.

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