Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—As Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Fuel and Energy, I note the government’s persistence in refusing to provide the requested information, based on a claim of likely commercial harm to parties contracted by Treasury to assist them in modelling on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The committee will consider the government’s further statement and advise the Senate. I do note, though, that the government, in making this continuing claim of commercial harm, still has not addressed the fact that there is a lot of information that was asked for in this order which is not covered by the government’s claim of commercial harm. The government has made no statement in any of the explanations provided to the Senate so far as to why it is persisting in not complying and conforming with the order of the Senate in relation to all of that other information, which includes, for example, information documents generated by the government for the purposes of the composition of the information covered and a whole range of other information, which is covered in part (3)(b) of the order which was successfully passed by the Senate last week. I ask that the government consider the comments I have just made and consider making a further statement explaining on what basis they are persisting with their refusal to comply with the order of the Senate, given they have not provided any explanation whatsoever of the basis on which they have refused to do so so far in relation to part (3)(b).