Senator FAULKNER (Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (6:52 PM) —I move:

I wish to comment on the report of the inquiry into doping allegations at the Australian Institute of Sport facility at Del Monte, Adelaide, conducted by the Hon. Robert Anderson QC and tabled by the Minister for Sport, Senator Kemp, out of session last week. I wish tonight to direct my remarks to only a few aspects regarding this report and the circumstances surrounding the doping allegations made. I am, of course, keen to give the Minister for Sport a full opportunity while parliament is sitting over the next two weeks to put a comprehensive account on the public record.

To begin with, I would like to say tonight that the Anderson inquiry into these allegations should not have been necessary. A full, properly constituted and independent inquiry should have been instituted immediately upon the discovery of the sharps bucket on the premises of the AIS facility at Del Monte. There should have been a comprehensive inquiry with full powers—

Senator Lundy —Indeed.

Senator FAULKNER —of compulsion and protection, as Senator Lundy knows—and I am delighted, Senator Lundy, that you are going to enter this debate a little later this evening because it is very important. And, of course, the inquiry should have been able to investigate the actions of all athletes allegedly involved in either improper or illegal practices. Without doubt this was the responsibility of the minister, as the AIS is a Commonwealth agency and has a heavy duty of care to all of the athletes involved. Instead, under the totally inadequate stewardship of Senator Kemp, we actually saw a parade of errors and mistakes—pseudo inquiries by coaches and human resources bureaucrats, secretive inquiries by a lawyer contracted to the Sports Commission, ASC induced delays in the tribunal processes, and attempts to cover up the whole matter at least until after the Athens Olympic Games. This issue should have been squarely faced up to back in December of last year, but we find the Australian Olympic cycling team is still in turmoil less than two weeks before the opening ceremony of the games. Senator Kemp should have insisted on full disclosure, full investigation and full accountability back when there was time to do so. There was not enough time for the full job to be done, and the responsibility for that should be laid at Senator Kemp's door.

I also want to comment on the decision made by Minister Kemp to table only part of the Anderson report. I want to be clear on this point. The portion tabled is by far the smallest selection available. Senator Kemp made a number of statements that he intended to publicly table the full report by Mr Anderson and he told the parliament that this public release would be `subject to privacy and other legal requirements'. Senator Kemp then tabled Mr Anderson's summary report last week without any of the additional 300-odd pages of appendix material, which is referred to extensively throughout the summary report. Senator Kemp has made no attempt to justify his refusal to table even one page of the appendices. He has provided no grounds for the failure to table that extensive material. He has given no idea of legal or other advice he has sought or received on the reasonableness or otherwise of tabling that material. And, importantly, the minister has made no attempt to discuss this matter with the Senate. If indeed there are legitimate privacy or other concerns with the publication of the material, then I would have expected Senator Kemp to raise those reasonable issues with the opposition and other senators with an interest in these important matters. The minister's failure to keep his undertaking to the Senate and his abject failure to consult with the Senate on his grounds for doing so will, I believe, be seen as a grave disservice to the parliament. I will be having more to say about these matters a little later in the week.