MEDIA STATEMENT 5 December 2025
Senate Estimates this week exposed disturbing gaps in transparency, legal process and national security under the Albanese Government. From the handling of the Higgins settlement to failures in freedom of information, cybercrime prosecution, and intelligence oversight, the pattern is clear: slow delivery, weak accountability and secrecy at every turn.
One of the most significant developments in this round of Estimates related to evidence involving former Senator Linda Reynolds. Coalition Senators pressed the Attorney-General’s Department on the Government’s approach to the Reynolds and Brown matters, including whether above-threshold counsel rates have been approved, whether model litigant obligations are being met, and how fairness is being ensured when one party does not have the resources of the Commonwealth.
The Attorney-General’s Department refused to give clear answers, repeatedly taking key questions on notice and declining to confirm whether the mandatory approval processes under the Legal Services Directions had been properly followed. Australians deserve confidence that the Commonwealth is acting with integrity and according to its own rules. After this week, that confidence has been shaken.
On the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill, officials were unable to produce a single Australian example of the so-called AI bot FOI problem used by the Government to justify new secrecy powers. Instead, the Attorney-General’s Department relied on a hypothetical WIRED article, despite the Prime Minister claiming AI could generate a thousand FOI requests in minutes. A Government building a transparency regime on fictional evidence should concern every Australian.
Evidence from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions revealed substantial strain on the prosecution of cybercrime and child exploitation. Growing caseloads, staffing pressure and digital shortcomings mean the CDPP is struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated offending. When cyber threats are accelerating, Labor cannot expect prosecutors to operate without the tools they need.
Coalition Senators also raised the serious findings in R v Clarke (No 9), where a Supreme Court judge found an ATO officer had lied and tampered with evidence. The Government could not explain why there has been no transparent accountability outcome, nor the circumstances surrounding the mid-litigation change in Commonwealth counsel. Integrity in Commonwealth litigation is not optional.
On copyright and privacy reform, the Government again failed to demonstrate clear consultation, economic modelling or practical enforcement capability, continuing its pattern of rushed laws built on weak evidence.
With intelligence oversight and the antisemitism response, key agencies were unable to outline a clear timetable for implementing safeguards that the Government itself claims are urgent. The gap between Labor’s rhetoric and its delivery grows wider every month.
Australia’s administrative justice system remains under strain, with the new Administrative Review Tribunal facing more than 112,000 matters and median delays of more than a year. The Federal Circuit and Family Court confirmed ongoing pressure in family matters, including unresolved gaps in child safety resourcing and regional circuits. Labor abolished the AAT promising a better system. Instead, Australians are waiting longer for justice.
Across the spectrum, Senate Estimates revealed the same pattern. The Albanese Government moves slowly on national security, keeps critical safeguards unfinished and hidden, and resists giving Parliament straight answers. Australians deserve a Government that is transparent, competent and accountable. This week proved that the Government is failing on all three of these measures.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
