Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 2:36:07 to 2:43:16
Minister Farrell addresses the attack on Dr. Helen Haines and the broader surge in threats against elected officials, outlining the independent review into parliamentary support.
Topics: Public safety, National security
Speakers: Unknown Speaker, Matt Yannopoulos, Senator The Hon James McGrath, Speaker 1, Ian Goodwin, Lisa Croswell
table as swiftly as they can.
So, James, I believe we're going into James World. >> we're going into James World.
Welcome, Mr. Theopoulos the secretary of the department of finance and other officers for from the department of finance. Um we will go to minister Farrell for an opening statement.
>> Uh thank you chair. U um I want to briefly address the
>> Do you have an opening statement? >> No. >> Okay. We'll go directly to questions and we'll go to Senator McGrath. Uh, thank
you, chair, and I'd like to associate coalition senators um with your remarks. Secretary, given the escalating threats against parliamentarians, what specific steps has the Department of Finance taken over the past 12 months to strengthen security arrangements for MPs, senators, staff, and their families? And I acknowledge that uh the security arrangements are shared with other departments and so forth but this is specifically in relation to to the department of finance.
Uh thank you senator for the question. Uh if if I can begin and then uh my colleague Mr. Nunam uh may wish to add. so over the past over the past period, I don't know whether it's a full 12 months, uh the government gave us some additional resourcing to uh do the review of the of the parliamentary support system. Included in that review is the is an element around security and looking at the security of uh in particular elected officers. The scope of the department of finance and its services to parliamentarians is the commonwealth parliamentary offices and the electorate offices uh as well as the transport uh arrangements or drive you know car with driver service known as com car. Um we have been working and we are always responsive to uh a threat assessment or uh if you like a tasking from either the AFP or home affairs that runs the uh parliamentary security coordination center. And so where we uh where there's an ask for something to be upgraded in a in an electorate office uh we go about that as as quickly as possible. Uh and indeed uh from the discussions that occurred last week uh there are I think nine different offices that were raised and we are doing work in those. Um another aspect I think of your question Senator was uh private residences.
>> Well I suppose um I suppose um uh families as such. So you know maybe that does take in private residences. So yes
>> yeah at at this stage there is not scope within the parliamentary business resources for the department of finance to act uh beyond the premises that I mentioned. Commonworth parliamentary offices, elected offices, satellite offices. We do not have uh legislative support to operate in a person's private res a parliamentarian's private