James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As our nation hopefully rounds the corner from coronavirus, I reiterate my call for the introduction of online transparency portals for government spending as a necessary measure to tackle wasteful, unnecessary spending and the growing size of government. Considering the economic and budgetary challenges confronting us, we must ensure there is as much transparency as possible when it comes to government spending. Every Australian should know where their taxes are being spent and what they are being spent on. It is only fair and reasonable that Australians who are working hard for their money are given insight into how their taxes are being spent.

The transparency portal approach, which is already being used overseas, would allow taxpayers to find details of how their taxes are being spent, down to the payment level—how much, to whom, for what and when—in a format that would be simple and universal across all government departments. Obviously, there would be exclusions for areas like defence and intelligence expenditure, for the sake of our national security. By bringing in a system of online transparency for government spending, accessible to the individual, there can be greater accountability and more responsible spending by government departments. This would lead to less wasteful spending and, I believe, would reduce government spending by openly highlighting the how, what, why and when of government spending by departments and where these agencies are actually spending their money. If anything, it will be an ongoing reminder to public servants and departments that the source of their expenditure is not the Treasury coffers or some magic money tree here in Canberra, but those who contribute to them—the taxpayer.

With easily accessible information, every Australian taxpayer can become an auditor of how their government is spending their money. From this increased transparency and the resulting accountability, a reduction in wasteful government spending will offer greater opportunities for savings or to fund the essential investment we need as we rebuild our proud, open, free and prosperous nation.

It was brought to my attention in my role as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation commissioned Kerry Blackburn to review the national broadcaster's coverage of the 2019 election. Following a series of questions through the committee's inquiry into the 2019 election and subsequently through Senate estimates, it has been established that the ABC paid $52,000 for this report—a $52,000 report that they are now refusing to release. The ABC claims to support the public's right to know, but time and time again it fails to practise what it preaches. So I wrote to the ABC asking them to bring this report to light. They refused. Subsequently, my office lodged an application under the Freedom of Information Act only to have it rejected by the ABC on the grounds that this report related to programming.

There have been news reports suggesting that this review did, in fact, find issues of bias in the coverage of last year's federal election. If that is the case, surely taxpayers, who pay for the ABC, have a right to know. If that is the case, why is the ABC keeping this review secret from the taxpayers, who contribute over $1 billion a year to the ABC? As such, today I'll be moving a motion in the Senate to order the production of documents—requiring the ABC to produce this report—because parliament and the Australian public have a right to know, even if the ABC thinks we don't.

Last Wednesday I, alongside the Labor member for Gellibrand, Tim Watts, launched the Parliamentary Friends of Video Games. As a noob, a newbie or, as people now know me, 'Senator Newbie', I am very honoured to be supporting this growing industry across Australia. As promised at the launch, I call out, 'Honk,' in honour of the angry goose in the Untitled Goose Game. But it is quite serious. Why would I, someone who knows very little about computer games and knows very little about the video game industry, want to get involved? The answer is very simple. There are so many opportunities for jobs, skills and businesses within the growing gaming industry in Australia. This parliamentary group, which has members from across the chambers in it, recognises the growing importance of the gaming industry and the many millions of Australian households who enjoy gaming. In fact, over 65 per cent of Australians identify as gamers. As a nation we are spending billions of dollars each year on games and gaming hardware and software.

There are many opportunities to support the game development industry as it grows. As a government there is so much we can do to support this very important industry. For example, video games are explicitly excluded from the tax offsets that are accessible to the film industry. That's wrong. I've previously called for the video game industry to be able to access these tax offsets. A 30 per cent tax offset for the video game development industry would build a new information based export industry and create thousands of jobs. In Canada over 25,000 people are employed in the industry, and in Australia a little over 2,500 people are. There are so many jobs for us to find and so many businesses for us to grow. I look forward to continuing as co-chair of this new parliamentary friendship group and advocating for ways we can foster the development of the Australian games industry. It is said that a puppy is for life and not just for Christmas. It's the same with video games—they're not just for Christmas; they are for the coming years to help grow the Australian economy.

On a more solemn note, I'd like to take a moment to recognise and respect the contribution made by all defence personnel, be they those in current service or the veterans who have served us. We sleep safely at night because of the sacrifices of those men and women, and we owe our all to those men and women.

Today, I'd like in particular to pay tribute to those Australian soldiers who have served in and those who continue to serve in Rifle Company Butterworth in Malaysia. They recently marked the 50th anniversary of its establishment. In particular, I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of the veterans involved in Malaysia's second emergency against communist insurgents, between 1970 and 1989, and the protection of RAAF aircraft, families and facilities at the air base at Butterworth. From 1973, Army troops in infantry company groups were deployed from Australia to Butterworth and had orders from the RAAF commander of the air base to provide a quick-reaction force that could be activated at short notice to repel attacks by communist insurgents. The Army troops received intelligence briefings on the nature of the insurgency threat to the air base, carried weapons and live ammunition, had orders to use lethal force should it be necessary and regularly practised responding to potential threats. It is undeniable that our Army troops were integral, with the Malaysian forces, to protecting the air base at Butterworth from the threat of attack by communist insurgents.

Despite acknowledging the threats posed by the communist insurgency and the need to deploy Army troops to carry out protective tasks to assure the safety and security of the air base, the defence committee of 1973 made recommendations to the government that the decision to deploy Army troops be presented publicly as being for training purposes, underplaying their real role. Many Rifle Company Butterworth veterans have since campaigned, to no avail, to have their service recognised as warlike service, given the strategic importance of their role and the threat of conflict in the region. I would like to acknowledge and thank the extensive efforts by Rifle Company Butterworth veterans, since their involvement, to have their service recognised as warlike service in light of the critical role they played in the defence of Butterworth. Following the decision to award the VC to Teddy Sheean—which is well deserved and a decision that I support and that everyone in this chamber supports—I would ask the government to consider the Butterworth veterans' endeavour to claim appropriate recognition for their service.