Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table documents relating to the orders for the production of documents concerning the resignation of the Freedom of Information Commissioner, and the GST.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

The Greens supported this order for the production of documents because we were deeply troubled by the circumstances in which the commissioner resigned. We were troubled that there was so little transparency from the government about the circumstances of the resignation of the FOI Commissioner, only 12 months into a multi-year appointment, in circumstances where the FOI Commissioner had expressed in budget estimates the efforts he was making to try and resolve an incredible backlog—a growing backlog—of FOI requests and reviews. Some of these, not one or two but dozens and dozens, date back five years.

What was clear was the FOI Commissioner had been trying to fix some of that internally in the office, seeking to work with the department and, it would appear, the Attorney-General's Department, the Attorney-General and the Attorney-General's office, and had hit a brick wall. He had absolutely hit a brick wall.

This is the Attorney-General who, when in opposition, repeatedly railed against the lack of resourcing for this office, repeatedly said the delays were bad for democracy and repeatedly called for it to be fixed. Now he's in a position to do that and, not quite 12 months into his time as the new Attorney-General, nothing has changed. In fact, things have got worse, because Commissioner Hardiman resigned in frustration about nothing changing. I'm glad that we had the call for papers. I'm concerned about the extent to which that will have been responded to, but I'm hopeful it's a full response.

Let's be clear. What's required here is, yes, the return of the documents, but it's for the government to resource the office, to provide the funds for the Freedom of Information Act to actually work. At the moment, starving the office of funds so reviews are five years late—thousands and thousands of reviews are years late—means we have freedom from information, not freedom of information, at a Commonwealth level.

We were told by this Attorney-General that he'd come in as a big reformer and fix it, but nothing's changed. In fact, the delays have got worse; they've got longer. The place is in such a shambles that the commissioner resigned in disgust. That's the truth of the matter. Well, there's a solution to this. Fund the office. Fund freedom of information. Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk. The now Attorney said, in opposition: 'The funding needs to happen. We need freedom of information.' Well, let's see a direct budget commitment to double the funding of this office, to actually get rid of the backlog—a targeted spend on the backlog—and a commitment that going forward we actually will have freedom of information laws.

I say this to former Commissioner Hardiman: Thank you for your efforts. Thank you for trying to fix the thing internally, and, on behalf of the Greens, we're sorry that it didn't work, but we need more public servants of commitment and integrity who are willing to say, when they're hitting roadblock after roadblock from the government of the day, that they're just going to sit there and take a salary and pretend that things can be fixed but are actually going to take a moment of principle and say: 'Do you know what? I won't be part of this,' and call it out in the best way they can. In this case, it was from Mr Hardiman, saying: 'I won't be part of this. I'm resigning. I'm not going to be part of the problem.' So this is an invitation to the Attorney to heed the call of Commissioner Hardiman and to commit to being part of the solution.

Question agreed to.