Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

The government will be opposing this motion. The order for the production of documents moved by Senator Smith is exceptionally broad in scope, and the process of identifying all documents captured by the order requires considerable time. It is also necessary to assess any potential commercial sensitivities that may warrant appropriate redaction. Minister Mulino's office has offered a briefing to Senator Smith and Senator Sharma, who jointly sponsored the order. My understanding is that no response has been received to that offer. The government has acted in good faith in seeking to comply with the order. However, the documents have not been provided at this time due to the complex scope of the request and the need to protect commercially sensitive information.