MEDIA RELEASE - BILL SHORTEN REFUSING TO ANSWER SENATE ESTIMATES QUESTIONS

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

BILL SHORTEN REFUSING TO ANSWER SENATE ESTIMATES QUESTIONS

Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten has failed to answer every question asked of him during Senate Estimates, including from his own Labor colleagues. 

165 questions were lodged on notice by Senators during the latest round of Senate Estimates, with Mr Shorten and his agency, Services Australia, required to respond by 16 December 2022. 

Shadow Minister for Government Services, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the Albanese Labor Government was yet again dodging parliamentary scrutiny. 

“Mr Shorten’s failure to answer these questions is a breach of his responsibility as a Minister to be accountable to the Parliament,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Whether it is repeatedly truncating debate in the Parliament, or now failing to answer questions on notice, the evidence is mounting: the Albanese Labor Government is allergic to accountability. 

“The Opposition asked more than 100 detailed questions of Mr Shorten during Estimates.

“The questions dealt with such matters as his role in hand-picking his former staffer Mr Amit Singh to be a member of the government’s review into myGov, his agency’s woeful handling of the Optus and Medicare data breaches, and whether the Minister is planning to cut any face-to-face service centres.

“What has Mr Shorten got to hide?”

ENDS

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