Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

In responding to the amendment, I might take the opportunity to acknowledge, as others have done, the advocacy by Senator Lambie for the veterans community. I also know that, in addition to her public advocacy, Senator Lambie engages closely with Minister Keogh, and he has spoken to me on many occasions of his appreciation for the way that she engages with him and with his office and the consistent way that she seeks to bring forward the views and ideas of the many veterans with whom she engages.

In relation to this amendment, like the opposition, the government will be opposing this particular amendment. We acknowledge, as I think all senators do, that the independent oversight that will be provided by the commission will be critical and of course is also a key recommendation from the royal commission itself. The commissioner must meaningfully and independently assess the implementation of each recommendation and publicly report on progress. A 12-month timeline would not provide sufficient time for the commission to independently and meaningfully assess progress on implementation for all 122 recommendations and 13 interim recommendations.

The bill requires comprehensive reports on all recommendations in 2027 and again in 2030. In addition, the commissioner may, at any time, undertake other inquiries into particular recommendations to independently confirm the outcomes and effectiveness of implementation. This approach will mean that smaller reports may be released, which will provide ongoing transparency of the government's implementation and assist stakeholders to follow progress. We consider that requiring the commission to undertake annual reviews into the implementation of the government's response to the royal commission's recommendations would unnecessarily consume the commission's resources without allowing them to exercise their independent judgement and powers.

However, the government does understand the public interest in the progress of the royal commission's recommendations. In particular, we acknowledge the many veterans who advocated for the royal commission and shared their stories with the royal commission in the hope that change would come. We will continue to hold ourselves accountable for implementing the royal commission's agreed recommendations. We will continue to subject ourselves, as any government should, to parliamentary scrutiny. As I noted in my second reading remarks, Minister Keogh provided an update as recently as December indicating that 32 of the agreed recommendations would be implemented by the end of 2025 and that we expect two-thirds of the agreed recommendations to be completed by the end of this year.

Finally, I will take the opportunity to observe that Senator McDonald has foreshadowed her amendment to bring forward the reporting date for the first mandated inquiry. The government will support this amendment, which will see the first mandated report occur by 5 February 2027.