Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, upon notice, on 7 December 2012:

In the development of the Fair Work Act 2009 , or since, has the Government shared any legal advice that it obtained with any interested parties; if so, for each occasion on which legal advice in relation to the Fair Work legislation has been shared, can details be provided that indicate: (a) who the parties were; (b) the date or dates on which the legal advice was so shared; (c) the reason for sharing such legal advice; and (d) whether the legal advice was shared with any other party, and if not, why not.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

To the extent that the Government has shared any of its legal advice, it has done so in confidence and in a manner consistent with the Commonwealth's right to maintain legal professional privilege over such advice.

Identifying those instances where the Government may have shared any of its legal advice , the form or nature of any information shared and the reasons for doing so are unable to be provided as doing so would involve an unreasonable diversion of departmental resources to attempt to answer it.