Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts; Order for the Production of Documents

Opened the debate

Payman moved a motion stating that the Minister representing the Minister for Communications had not met the requirements of order for the production of documents no. 37, which was agreed to on 28 July 2025. The motion noted that the minister had indicated no further information was available concerning a public interest immunity claim and had not supplied extra details since appearing in the Senate on 5 November 2025. Payman asked that the minister appear in the Senate on 26 November 2025 to give a five-minute account of the non-compliance. The motion also suggested that any senator could move to note the explanation, with debates capped at 20 minutes and speeches limited to five minutes each.

Government response

Walsh sought leave to make a short statement on behalf of the government. Walsh stated that the government would oppose the motion. Walsh noted that the government had already provided documents to Senator Payman. Walsh also mentioned that a briefing had been offered, which was understood not to have been accepted.