PARLIAMENTARY DEPARTMENTS

In Attendance

Senator Hogg, President of the Senate

Department of the Senate

Dr Rosemary Laing, Clerk of the Senate

Mr Richard Pye, Deputy Clerk of the Senate

Mr Chris Reid, Clerk Assistant (Committees)

Ms Bronwyn Notzon, Clerk Assistant (Procedure)

Ms Maureen Weeks, Clerk Assistant (Table Office)

Mr Brien Hallett, Usher of the Black Rod

Mr Joe d'Angelo, Chief Financial Officer

Mr Simon Harvey, Director Parliamentary Education Office

Department of Parliamentary Services

Departmental overview and major corporate issues

Mr David Kenny, Acting Secretary

Ms Freda Hanley, Acting Deputy Secretary

Ms Roxanne Missingham, Parliamentary Librarian

Ms Karen Sheppard, Assistant Secretary, Corporate Services Branch (and CFO)

Dr Mark Rodrigues, Executive Adviser to the Secretary

Program 1: Parliamentary Library services

Dr Dianne Heriot, Assistant Secretary, Research Branch

Program 2: Building and occupant services

Ms Bronwyn Graham, Assistant Secretary, Building Services Branch

Program 3: Infrastructure services

Mr Cliff van Lohuizen, Acting Assistant Secretary, Infrastructure Services Branch

Program 4: Parliamentary records services

Ms Karen Greening, Assistant Secretary, Content Management Branch

Program 5: Works programs

Mr Nick Tate, Acting Assistant Secretary, Projects Branch

Mr John Edwards, Senior Project Officer, Projects Branch

Ms Kylie Scroope, Director, Art Services

Committee met at 09:00

CHAIR ( Senator Polley ): I declare open this hearing of the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. The Senate has referred to the committee the particulars of the proposed additional expenditures for 2011-12 for the parliamentary departments and the portfolios of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Finance and Deregulation. The committee may also examine the annual reports of the departments and agencies appearing before it. The committee has fixed Friday, 30 March 2012 as the date by which answers to questions on notice are to be returned. The committee's proceedings today will begin with examination of the Department of the Senate followed by the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The examination of the Finance and Deregulation portfolio will commence tomorrow.

Under standing order 26, the committee must take all evidence in public session. This includes answers to questions on notice. Officers and senators are familiar with the rules of the Senate governing estimates hearings. If you need assistance, the secretary has copies of the rules. I particularly draw the attention of witnesses to an order of the Senate of 13 May 2009 specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity should be raised and which I now incorporate into Hansard.

The extract read as follows—

Public interest immunity claims

That the Senate—

(a) notes that ministers and officers have continued to refuse to provide information to Senate committees without properly raising claims of public interest immunity as required by past resolutions of the Senate;

(b) reaffirms the principles of past resolutions of the Senate by this order, to provide ministers and officers with guidance as to the proper process for raising public interest immunity claims and to consolidate those past resolutions of the Senate;

(c) orders that the following operate as an order of continuing effect:

(1) If:

(a) a Senate committee, or a senator in the course of proceedings of a committee, requests information or a document from a Commonwealth department or agency; and

(b) an officer of the department or agency to whom the request is directed believes that it may not be in the public interest to disclose the information or document to the committee, the officer shall state to the committee the ground on which the officer believes that it may not be in the public interest to disclose the information or document to the committee, and specify the harm to the public interest that could result from the disclosure of the information or document.

(2) If, after receiving the officer’s statement under paragraph (1), the committee or the senator requests the officer to refer the question of the disclosure of the information or document to a responsible minister, the officer shall refer that question to the minister.

(3) If a minister, on a reference by an officer under paragraph (2), concludes that it would not be in the public interest to disclose the information or document to the committee, the minister shall provide to the committee a statement of the ground for that conclusion, specifying the harm to the public interest that could result from the disclosure of the information or document.

(4) A minister, in a statement under paragraph (3), shall indicate whether the harm to the public interest that could result from the disclosure of the information or document to the committee could result only from the publication of the information or document by the committee, or could result, equally or in part, from the disclosure of the information or document to the committee as in camera evidence.

(5) If, after considering a statement by a minister provided under paragraph (3), the committee concludes that the statement does not sufficiently justify the withholding of the information or document from the committee, the committee shall report the matter to the Senate.

(6) A decision by a committee not to report a matter to the Senate under paragraph (5) does not prevent a senator from raising the matter in the Senate in accordance with other procedures of the Senate.

(7) A statement that information or a document is not published, or is confidential, or consists of advice to, or internal deliberations of, government, in the absence of specification of the harm to the public interest that could result from the disclosure of the information or document, is not a statement that meets the requirements of paragraph (I) or (4).

(8) If a minister concludes that a statement under paragraph (3) should more appropriately be made by the head of an agency, by reason of the independence of that agency from ministerial direction or control, the minister shall inform the committee of that conclusion and the reason for that conclusion, and shall refer the matter to the head of the agency, who shall then be required to provide a statement in accordance with paragraph (3).

(Extract, Senate Standing Orders, pp 124-125)

Officers called upon for the first time to answer a question should state their name and position for the Hansard record, and witnesses should speak clearly into the microphone. Please ensure all mobile phones are switched off. I would also like to request that if senators wish to table any documents or provide additional information during the proceedings that they please bring a duplicate copy so that copies can be made as quickly as possible for other members of the committee.