Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make a statement in respect of not so much Senator Scott Ryan's response to our queries on the order for production of documents that moves are still afoot to bring this information forward. I thank Senator Ryan for that explanation and appreciate that hopefully that will be fairly soon. 'Shortly' can be a somewhat vague term. I would instead like this opportunity to bring to the Senate's attention that the next item of business on the red is the bill that these matters relate to. Resumption of the second reading debate on the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 is the next matter in the Order of Business. The information that we are seeking here is very important information that has still not been provided on the Senate committee that reported yesterday at eight in the morning and which the government very promptly responded to by noon! I would like to know when the government actually met. Where was this cabinet meeting that met to consider the recommendations in the committee's report? That is what is before us without the information that the committee discussed in the hearing. Indeed, we were advised that the AEC could not provide it but that the Department of Finance could.

Again, to give yet another example of the haste in which this process has proceeded, today I sought out—and this might benefit other senators as well—the answers that the AEC gave to the committee in the hearing. Unfortunately, the procedures of this joint committee through CommDocs were a bit fraught. I mentioned the other day that I had difficulty accessing the chair's draft because I was not in the building at the time. Unfortunately this committee did not advise senators that answers had come in either. So today I went hunting for the answers from the Australian Electoral Commission and, indeed, I discovered that a little time back the AEC had actually responded to our questions but that the response was very limited. For instance, on my question around the role of the Department of Finance and what had occurred there, the AEC's response was, 'The development of legislation was managed'—and this might assist other senators—'by the governance and public management division of the Department of Finance.' So we know that much now. We know which element of the Department of Finance was working on this matter, not that the minister or the committee would allow them to appear at the hearing. Unfortunately, the next point from the AEC was that the AEC could not comment on the considerations of the government, which is why we are waiting for the answers from the Department of Finance before we can promptly consider this legislation.

I know Senator Carr and other senators have revisited this but, seriously—and this is a message to the Australian Greens—this is basic governance 101. When you are considering complex, detailed legislation and its implementation, the committee needs to talk to the relevant department.