Australia's leading bureaucrats are advocating for the Albanese government to prohibit the editing and sharing of video footage from parliamentary hearings on social media. This push is an attempt to prevent online ridicule and abuse, according to the secretaries board.
The secretaries board, which includes the heads of government departments and is chaired by Steven Kennedy, the Prime Minister and Cabinet boss, expressed concern that material from hearings is presented online without proper context. They stated that politicians and political parties sharing such content expose officials to "ridicule, hostility and abuse." The board's submission, published on Monday, argued that officials have not consented to the use of their image or evidence by parliamentarians for party-political purposes, which they believe could be harmful to individuals and the public sector.
Should their primary recommendation not be adopted, the board has called for rules to prevent videos from being edited or having captions added. They also propose stopping politicians from sharing content or commentary that targets individual officials for ridicule or harassment. The board suggested that full hearing footage and transcripts be made available instead of clips, with comments disabled, to ensure scrutiny remains focused on evidence and accountability rather than becoming personal.
Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May has opposed the proposal, telling Guardian Australia that the public has a right to view footage from hearings. She stated that bureaucrats should not determine the limits of parliamentary scrutiny, especially when they are the subjects of it. Hodgins-May described the proposal as an attempt to weaken parliamentary scrutiny, arguing that Australians deserve more transparency.
This initiative follows comments made last week by Celia Perkins, defence department deputy secretary, who told a parliamentary hearing that public servants giving evidence do not consent to footage being shared on social media. However, the Senate foreign affairs, defence and trade committee rejected Perkins’ request based on the advice of the Senate clerk.