Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I see, Senator Ludlam, that it may be your fault if there is an extension required for the bookshelf! This matter of public importance debate goes to the heart of the problem with the Liberal-National Party government. As I have said before in this House, this is a government wedded to secrecy. They operate in the shadows and hide themselves from scrutiny by the media, the public and this parliament. I can understand, on a certain level, why this is so. It is because every time they have shown who they are and what they are doing, the public recoils. This is not the government the public were promised.

There is no greater example of the Abbott government's secrecy than Operation Sovereign Borders. This is a policy where secrecy knows no bounds, where there is no matter that cannot be considered operational and no area that cannot be deemed off limits. The truth is that we do not know for certain what is happening on or off our waters. Both sides of politics want to reduce the loss of life at sea. That is why the former government worked for years to get the support of the parliament to put in place measures that would work. The coalition government's lack of transparency over its immigration policies is, however, unprecedented. They do not even answer basic questions from the media or the public. Even the once infamous 'no comment' weekly press conferences have been canned. They do not even have those any more.

Given that, you might think there would not be much need to employ media staff, but those in the chamber will be shocked to discover that the facts are quite the opposite. The Sun-Herald revealed yesterday that Minister Morrison had 66 spin doctors slaving away—at huge cost to the Australian taxpayer—to answer nothing at all. In the last hour or so, I understand, Minister Morrison made a personal explanation about this matter. He claimed:

I can confirm that there are only 39.7 full-time equivalent staff employed in that area of my department.

I seek leave to table question on notice No. SE13/0169 from the minister's own department that shows not only that there are 66.2 ongoing public relations communication and media staff but also that there are an additional eight non-ongoing staff, an additional 5.5 staff in Operation Sovereign Borders and an additional 33 media staff in Australian Customs, all under the minister's portfolio.

Leave granted.

I note that the article shows the minister was given an opportunity to respond before it was published on Sunday. But, true to form, the minister did not respond to questions. I also seek leave to table the article by Bianca Hall, and I would encourage all senators to read it.

Leave granted.

I hope the minister gets his facts right and gives an apology to the journalist, or returns her call in future so that at least his side can be put, if it should be any different from what I have just outlined. He may need to do another personal explanation as well. In addition, it does seem—and I will stay with the number of 66, notwithstanding the number I have added—they must have gone AWOL, because under Minister Morrison they are not allowed to tell the people of Australia or the media what is happening. What is shocking is the cost being expended by the minister's department on media monitoring. There is not a cent being spared in watching what the media is reporting. They have spent a whopping $11,476 on media monitoring since the Abbott government was elected. They are not just watching the media, however; they are also spending thousands of taxpayers' dollars watching themselves.

Since coming into office, Minister Morrison's team of spin doctors has spent over $9,000 just on recording the Sky news and ABC 24 televised conferences—not that you find out much there. I would encourage the minister to buy his department a set-top box and maybe a recorder or two. It would certainly be cheaper than the nine grand he is spending on media. I would also like to encourage them to keep away from the shadows—come out into the light and explain your circumstances. This is a government that promised to end waste, and yet they have a minister leading an army of spinners who answer nothing and charge an arm and a leg for what ABC iView can do for free. (Time expired)