Chris Bowen defends Labor’s use of NDAs

Chris Bowen defends Non-Disclosure Agreements for fuel efficiency standards, amid concerns from industry groups and business leaders over threats to freeze out critics.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has defended his government’s use of Non-Disclosure Agreements and declared there will always be “a combination of public consultation and private consultations” in designing legislation.

It comes amid concerns from industry groups, business leaders and transparency activists over the increasing use of NDAs, threats to freeze out critics and blocking the release of Freedom of Information requests.

Disability advocates last week lashed the lack of true consultation and co-design, claiming that disability groups who were allowed into discussions over milestone NDIS legislation were made to sign NDAs.

When asked if there was a growing trend within government to use confidentiality agreements, Mr Bowen defended the need for NDAs when it came to the design of the National Vehicle Efficiency Standard.

“Car companies came to us and said they wanted to share commercial in confidence data with the government and ask for the negotiations or consultations to be held in that light and so we agreed to that and therefore there were those sorts of agreements entered into,” he said.

“There were two public consultation papers, thousands of submissions, there was also the preferred model put out, thousands of submissions all public, all worked through.

“There will always be a combination of public consultation and private consultations.”

Former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy told the Australian last month the government was “lagging behind on transparency” while independent Jacqui Lambie said Labor was “gagging stakeholders”.