To explain to everyone watching this debate: the Senate has a majority, and the government does not hold a majority in the Senate. Accordingly, the Coalition, together with the crossbench—including the Greens—called for the government to produce information and modelling to the Senate.
A majority of the Senate, representing a majority of the Australian people, asked the government to produce certain information. That information relates to the modelling the government produced, on the basis of which it introduced the First Home Buyer Scheme, and on which it asserted that the introduction of that scheme would increase housing prices by only 0.6 per cent over six years.
Now, that did not make sense to the Coalition. It did not make sense to the crossbench. It did not make sense to a range of experts in economics and property markets. It did not make sense that the introduction of this scheme would have only a 0.6 per cent impact on home prices. So we asked for the modelling—how was that figure reached?
In response, the government has produced a few pages where the vast majority of each page is blanked out—redacted, to use the term of art.
Why did we want that information? Because the government said housing prices would increase in that segment of the market by only 0.6 per cent. Yet the actual statistics tell us that, for first home buyers, prices increased by 6.7 per cent in six months—6.7 per cent in six months, compared to the 0.6 per cent over six years that the government asserted.
And now the government refuses to provide the modelling. Why? Because no doubt that modelling would demonstrate the weak foundation upon which the government based its 0.6 per cent claim.
So we have a situation where a majority of the Australian Senate, representing a majority of the Australian people, is asking for information to help us hold the government to account—to discharge our role as a House of Review—and the government refuses. The government refuses.
That is the situation we have before us today.
And this is not the first time. As Senator Bragg said, the Centre for Public Integrity—a non-partisan organisation—issued a report card on the Albanese Labor Government. I will quote their mandate:
“The Centre for Public Integrity is an independent research institute dedicated to restoring integrity to the foundations of Australia’s democracy.”
In that report card, this is what they said about transparency—the very issue we are discussing today. They said that the Labor Government was, “leaning into a culture of secrecy.”
And we see that culture of secrecy when we are given documents that are almost entirely redacted. We cannot see the underlying data.
If there is nothing to hide, why not provide the documents—not just to us, but through us to the Australian people?
The government asserts that this is “cabinet-in-confidence.” But we are not asking for minutes of cabinet discussions. We respect that confidentiality. Cabinet ministers must be able to discuss matters openly and vigorously.
What we are asking for is the foundational modelling on which the government publicly claimed that house prices would rise by only 0.6 per cent—when the data now shows a 6.7 per cent increase in six months.
This is a question of integrity. It is a question of transparency. And it is a question of respect—for the Senate, and for the Australian people.
Yet the government has shown disrespect to this Senate, and in doing so, disrespect to the Australian people.
