Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

It was disappointing but perhaps not surprising that today in the Sydney Morning Herald we see the headline 'Secretive Albanese government goes backward on transparency'. This government has gone out of its way to obfuscate, block and ensure that Australians do not get access to information about government activities. This is the most secretive government since the Keating government, based on the records produced by the Centre for Public Integrity. It is hard to believe that this government has less integrity and less transparency than the last government, where the Prime Minister swore himself into secret ministries. That is the standard of where this government is. It is a government with less integrity than a government led by a person who swore himself into secret ministries.

We've seen Dr Chalmers, the Treasurer of the Commonwealth, make false public interest immunity claims to the Senate which have been thrown out by the Information Commissioner. He proposes now to continue in that role for the next three years after lowering his colours so deeply that he has filed false claims to this Senate. The government is extremely arrogant. We all know that. We take that for granted. But the fact that they are prepared to trample on their constitutional obligations really is a low point in Australia's democracy. Our role here in the Senate is to hold the government to account. Where we seek the Senate's support and are granted the Senate's support in orders for the production of documents, we expect that the government elected by the Australian people will do the right thing and honour the requests of the Senate. This government has to get serious and change course on transparency and integrity. Comply with the orders and comply with freedom of information.