David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notices of motion Nos 87 and 88 before asking that they be taken as formal motions.

Leave granted.

I move the motions as amended:

GENERAL BUSINESS NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 87

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on 23 July 2025, the Senate agreed to order for the production of documents no. 7 (the order), requiring the Minister representing the Minister for Social Services to table documents relating to online gambling, including any briefing to the minister, the incoming government brief and any draft or final response to the House of Representatives Standing Committee report You win some, you lose more,

(ii) the minister's response tabled only a single publicly available document and asserted public interest immunity over all other responsive documents, and

(iii) the minister has not provided the Senate with a list of the documents withheld, nor identified their titles, subject matter, dates or intended audiences,

(b) reaffirms the principle that in the face of executive claims of public interest immunity the Senate has not conceded its right to ultimately determine such claims;

(c) agrees that the Senate cannot determine claims of public interest immunity if the nature of the documents is withheld from the Senate; and

(d) requires the Minister representing the Minister for Social Services to, by no later than 9 am on Thursday, 28 August 2025:

(i) provide to the Senate a list of all documents responsive to order for which public interest immunity is claimed, and

(ii) and for each document, specify:

(A) the title of the document (or a short descriptive title if untitled),

(B) the subject matter or topic covered,

(C) the date of the document, and

(D) the intended audience or recipients within government.

GENERAL BUSINESS NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 88

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on 23 July 2025, the Senate agreed to order for the production of documents no. 8 (the order), requiring the Minister representing the Minister for Communications to table documents relating to online gambling,

(ii) in the response to the order, the minister made claims of public interest immunity over 7 documents, without adequately describing the nature of the documents or the specific harm that would result from their disclosure,

(iii) the Minister representing the Minister for Communications also tabled documents with extensive redactions, including to materials that cannot reasonably be considered confidential, such as talking points prepared by the Department for the minister's use at a public event, namely the formal opening of the Seven West Media Melbourne newsroom,

(iv) Odgers' Australian Senate Practice establishes that claims of public interest immunity must be accompanied by a statement of the ground for that conclusion, specifying the harm to the public interest that could result from the production of the document to the Senate,

(v) the Senate cannot determine claims of public interest immunity if the nature of the documents are withheld from the Senate;

(b) agrees that the absence of proper explanation or justification in the minister's response constitutes non-compliance with the Senate's order;

(c) requires the Minister representing the Minister for Communications to:

(i) fully comply with the Senate's original order by no later than 9 am on Thursday, 28 August 2025, by tabling unredacted all documents in scope of the order; or

(ii) in respect of each document where a claim of public interest immunity is asserted, provide:

(A) a description of the document, including its title, subject matter, date and intended audience,

(B) the specific ground on which public interest immunity is claimed; and

(C) the harm to the public interest that is expected to result from its disclosure.

Question agreed to.