Senate debates Documents
Housing Australia; Order for the Production of Documents
Wendy Askew Tasmania, Liberal Party
11:57 am
At the request of Senator Bragg, I move:
That—
(a) the Senate notes that:
(i) order for the production of documents no. 371, relating to Housing Australia staff surveys, required the Minister representing the Minister for Housing to comply with the order by midday on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, and
(ii) the order has not been complied with;
(b) the Senate requires the Minister representing the Minister for Housing to comply with the order by no later than midday on Monday, 30 March 2026; and
(c) if the order has still not been fully complied with by midday on Wednesday, 1 April 2026, the Minister representing the Minister for Housing be required to attend the Senate at the start of proceedings on the Tuesday of each sitting week, starting with, Tuesday, 12 May 2026, to provide an explanation, of no more than 5 minutes, of the failure to comply with the order, and that:
(i) any senator may move to take note of the explanation, and
(ii) any such motion may be debated for no longer than 30 minutes, shall have precedence over all other business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 5 minutes each.
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
I seek leave to make a short statement.
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
The government will be opposing this motion. This order seeks documents relating to surveys of Housing Australia staff. Despite the fact that the Senate's order gave a deadline some four hours before the motion was even agreed to, I'm happy to advise that documents will be produced in response to this order imminently.