Today in Parliament, Abigail grilled the Leader of the NSW Government during Question Time on their lack of transparency around the large number of non-disclosure agreements being executed during consultations with the community and stakeholders.
Abigail said:
My question without notice is directed to the Leader of the Government. On 28 October this year I asked all Ministers the same questions on notice requesting information about the use of non-disclosure agreements [NDAs] in community and stakeholder consultation processes. I received identical responses from all Ministers, including from the Leader of the Government, which did not answer my questions as to when and how NDAs are used but instead just stated that NDAs "may be used". Does the Minister think it acceptable that questions on notice are not responded to with any of the information requested? Does the Minister think it acceptable that the Government is not being up‑front with the public when it comes to which consultations have required that NDAs be signed by participants?
The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage): I am very familiar with NDAs; I signed off on a couple in the past day or so. The way answers to questions on notice are perceived is often in the eye of the beholder in terms of whether people believe they are being answered. I am familiar with the question that the member refers to, which was "When are NDAs used?". The answer was directly relevant. It was that sometimes they are used and sometimes they are not. It depends on the nature of the consultations and there is a range of reasons for that.
As the member probably knows, my general preference is for consultations to be as open as possible. I cannot speak on behalf of my colleagues in relation to how non-disclosure agreements are used, but my general view is that they should be used sparingly and that there are sometimes reasons to use them, particularly for consultations that might involve market‑sensitive information. An NDA is appropriate in some of the areas I look after, but my general view is that they should be used sparingly and should be clear. I understand that the member is probably not thrilled that she got a standard response from across the government, but it was accurate. It stated that NDAs are used on a case-by-case basis. I am sure the member is aware of the various standing orders that she can use to pursue further answers, and I look forward to her bringing those to our attention.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I ask a supplementary question. I thank the Minister for her answer. She commented that the answer I received stating that non-disclosure agreements may be used was an answer to the questions asked. Will the Minister elucidate how stating that non-disclosure agreements may be used could possibly be an accurate answer to questions that asked for the number of Government consultations, the subject matter of the consultations, the number of NDAs, the number of community sector organisations and number of breaches of NDAs?
The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: I refer to my previous answer, which was that the answers were directly relevant. Members would know that sometimes questions are not answered in the way that members would like them to be. That is not an unusual situation. It definitely was not when I was sitting on the other side of the table, and Ministers will continue to do that. My general view is that questions will sometimes be answered in a way that members do not like. I will not provide ongoing commentary in relation to that except to say that we answer our questions within the standing orders.
Abigail later took note of the Minister's responses later in the day:
I take note of the answer from the Leader of the Government to my question on non-disclosure agreements [NDAs]. Members may be aware of the Federal Government reporting which has found that non-disclosure agreements are being used in quite a number of consultations with community and stakeholders. This has raised real concerns about the democratic process and the transparency and accountability of government. As I said in my question, I asked very detailed questions of every Minister. I requested very basic information, including how many government consultations have involved the use of non‑disclosure agreements, the subject matter of those consultations, what the restrictions were, how many there were and whether anyone has refused to sign an NDA—and, if so, the consequences of that. It is really important.
For example, if the Government is just consulting on a bill, it might say, "As part of the non-disclosure agreement you can't tell people what's in our bill." I do not think many of us would have a huge problem with that, but some of these NDAs could say, "Once you have consulted on this bill in relation to this particular topic, you may not publicly make any more submissions about your views on this topic." That would be a massive problem. Members of the public, stakeholders and even journalists have flagged concerns with me by asking if a restriction has been placed on stakeholders. Are stakeholders not allowed to make submissions on subjects to parliamentary inquiries, for example, if consultation has already been held with the Government? That is incredibly dangerous for our democratic process.
The Government is basically locking up a stakeholder group so that we cannot do our jobs by consulting with them and investigating. I raise this as a real warning sign for members. To the extent of my awareness, this is not something that the Coalition did when it was in Federal or State government. It is a concerning and controlling trend from this Labor Government. When it brings us legislation at the last minute, it tells us, "We've consulted, so you don't need to worry." I really worry about the powers of this House. As many members have reflected in the past, this House works at its best when all members come together to make the finished product better than what it started as. I feel that those attempts are being thwarted. I call on the Government to tell us exactly what it is doing with these non-disclosure agreements.
Read the Question Without Notice transcript in Hansard here
Read the Take Note of Answers transcript in Hansard here
19 November 2024