Government threatens reprisals after losing control of Senate in key vote

2 days ago 5

The Albanese government has threatened to strip Coalition MPs of key positions on parliamentary committees in retaliation against its political opponents for pressuring Labor to release a long-awaited review into Canberra’s “jobs for mates” culture.

The Coalition, Greens and crossbench united in a Senate vote on Wednesday afternoon to allow themselves to ask five extra questions of the government during question time every day until Labor releases a report into public sector board appointments.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has refused to bow to demands from the crossbench for the immediate release of the Briggs report.

Minister for Public Service Katy Gallagher has been repeatedly ordered by the Senate to make the final report by former public service commissioner Lynelle Briggs public.

Gallagher announced the review in early 2023 and pitched it as a way to bolster trust in public institutions and improve integrity. “This review is all about putting an end to the jobs-for-mates culture that defined the previous Morrison government’s public-sector appointments,” she said at the time.

She received the final report more than two years ago, but has refused to release it in response to Senate demands, claiming the document had been prepared for cabinet and was therefore protected by cabinet confidentiality. Instead, she has said it would be released on the government’s timetable.

Independent MP David Pocock rallied non-Labor senators, who hold a majority in the upper house, to take the unprecedented step to extend question time from an hour to 90 minutes until the report was made public.

In retaliation, the government threatened to strip Coalition MPs of their deputy chair positions on committees in the House of Representatives, where the government has a majority, if the move was not reversed, according to multiple sources not permitted to speak publicly.

The offices of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is overseas, and Gallagher, who leads government business in the Senate, have been contacted for comment.

House committees are tasked with investigating matters of public policy, and the prime minister appoints his own MPs as chairs. The leader of the opposition appoints most deputy chair positions, while some committees elect any non-government member, according to the standing orders which govern house procedure.

The government would need approval from the House of Representatives, in which it holds a majority, to amend the rules and strip the opposition of those committee positions.

The reprisal would be a further blow to Albanese government’s record on transparency, which just days ago received a failing grade for cronyism from the independent Centre for Public Integrity.

The think tank’s integrity report card said Labor had made little progress on ending the “jobs for mates” culture in Canberra and specifically called for the release of the Briggs report.

“Appointments continue to be made without sufficient guardrails to guarantee transparency and independence — including that of the new head of the Office of National Intelligence, a former adviser to the prime minister,” it said.

Gallagher opposed the motion in the Senate on Wednesday.

“What the Senate is going to do here is to rip up the convention of how question time has applied in this place,” she said.

Gallagher said she had a meeting this week to “resolve the government’s position” on the report, and argued senators had abused their power to demand the government produce documents.

“I voluntarily said that I would be releasing that report … and I will,” she said.

Pocock’s motion noted that Senate guidelines said governments could not claim confidentiality just because a document used the word “cabinet”.

The independent senator slammed the government’s threat and reiterated his call for the review to be made public.

“Inflicting retribution on members of the House of Representatives because the Senate is doing its job under our Constitution would be appalling behaviour from the Albanese government,” Pocock said.

“Instead of pushing back on transparency, just release the review.”

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