Labor’s transparency vow lies bleeding from a thousand cuts

Anthony Albanese in question time on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The government’s ubiquitous use of non-disclosure agreements to gag organisations and keep proposed legislation secret is a travesty of Anthony Albanese’s pre-election promise of transparency and a corruption of the Rudd government’s original intent.

From the early days of the ­Albanese government, industry groups have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements over discussions on resources tax, environmental laws, industrial relations changes, and pharmacies.

Limits on public discussion have extended to industry representatives not being able to even brief their chief executive or board room on what they were being asked to consider or negotiate on.

Some groups in the fuel emissions debate considered “unfriendly” were frozen out and “friendlies” were embraced as the government used access to negotiations as a tool of division and disruption which gave the ministers the upper hand.

Now, even religious leaders have been asked to swear to secrecy over proposals for religious freedom laws. The complex legislative changes, which the Prime Minister said required bipartisanship, are being dealt with behind closed doors.

In a parody of the failed processes of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, in which a preferred model was developed in secret and presented without real scrutiny or change and failed to get bipartisan support, the religious freedoms bill is being negotiated in secret as the government calls for political co-operation.

Even here the weaponisation of access and division was a coercive element as religious groups were told not to speak to each other so they could develop a common response.

The faith leaders observed the restrictions even to their own disadvantage.

What’s worse is that the convoluted and secretive processes are being done in the name of gaining bipartisanship and avoiding another “ugly debate”. Yet they are serving a political end – which is to blame Peter Dutton should Albanese’s promise to deliver new religious freedom laws fail.

Opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash, who has the draft laws but can’t comment on them, said it was concerning that the government was already ruling out a parliamentary inquiry on very significant legislation.

“If Mr Albanese genuinely wants bipartisan support for his proposals, he needs to have his legislation out there for public scrutiny. This matter cannot be dealt with behind closed doors,” Cash said.

The pernicious use of non-disclosure agreements and secret meetings completely betrays the Rudd government’s commitment to open government when John Faulkner was special minister for state and campaigned for Freedom of Information laws and limiting non-disclosure agreements.

The basic principle was that non-disclosure agreements should in principle apply only to national security issues or genuine commercial-in-confidence negotiations. There could be exceptions but the exceptions weren’t to become the rule.

Albanese, Tony Burke, Chris Bowen and Mark Dreyfus were all part of that government. They also promised more, not less, transparency at the last election.