DOCUMENTS

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (16:31): I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 191. Leave granted. Senator DAVID POCOCK: I move the motion as amended: That the Senate— (a) notes that: (i) order for the production of documents no. 10, agreed to on 23 July 2025, required the Minister for the Public Service to produce the final report of the review of public sector board appointments processes, (ii) the minister refused to comply with the order, stating that the document had been prepared for Cabinet deliberation and is therefore protected by Cabinet confidentiality, (iii) on 25 August 2025, the Senate rejected the claim of Cabinet confidentiality advanced by the minister and again ordered the minister to table the document, (iv) the minister again failed to comply with that order, advancing the same claim of Cabinet confidentiality, and (v) on 28 August 2025, the Minister for Industry and Innovation provided an explanation on behalf of the minister; (b) again rejects the claim of Cabinet confidentiality made by the minister, and the explanation provided by the Minister for Industry and Innovation; (c) further notes that: (i) Odgers' Australian Senate Practice states, at page 665, 'There has been a tendency for governments to claim that anything with a connection to cabinet is confidential.

A claim that a document is a cabinet document should not be accepted; as has been made clear in relation to such claims in court proceedings, it has to be established that disclosure of the document would reveal cabinet deliberations. The claim cannot be made simply because a document has the word "cabinet" in or on it', and (ii) according to the Australian Public Service Commission's website and documents released under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the report was expected to be published in late 2023, indicating the report was prepared for public release and not solely for Cabinet deliberation; and (d) resolves that, until the order is fully complied with, the following arrangements for question time apply: (i) questions without notice may not be terminated until at least 15 primary questions, and any related supplementary questions, have been answered, (ii) the maximum number of primary questions that may be asked by government senators is 2 on Monday and 3 on any other day, and (iii) the remaining questions are to be allocated proportionally amongst non-government senators in accordance with existing practice.