Coalition additional comments

1.1The Coalition notes its concerns that of the 259 questions on notice put to the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Matters prior to 9 November 2023 as part of the 2023-24 Supplementary Budget Estimates, only 96 had been answered by 16January 2024, despite the deadline for answers being 15 December 2023. Indeed, the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Matters had only answered 115 of the 259 questions just one week prior to the 2023-24 Additional Estimates of the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (the committee) held on 16 February 2024.

1.2Rather, to avoid scrutiny, the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Matters submitted all 142 remaining answers to questions on notice between 5:37pm and 6:34pm the night before the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Matters Estimates hearing. Coalition senators were only informed that their outstanding questions on notice had been answered just 9 minutes before Estimates commenced despite the deadline being two months beforehand. The answers to the questions on notice were only published 90 minutes after the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Affairs hearing had already begun.

1.3This repeated behaviour is unacceptable and shows the concerns and priorities of Indigenous Australians are not being shared by this government. It is absurd to pretend that these unanswered questions on notice were suddenly ready for publication the night before the Additional Estimates hearing. Whether the Minister is intentionally delaying the publication of information requested by the Senate to suit her political purposes will be ultimately determined by the rate at which the Cross Portfolio on Indigenous Affairs responds to the questions on notice arising from the Additional Estimates hearing.

Senator the Hon James McGrath

Member