Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2)
21 April 2026
Speaker dots
- Speakers in the chapter
- Colour: political group
- Grey: no group
Tap or click a chapter's dots to see names and groups.
Contents updated on 21 Oct 2026
Legend
Transcript markers
- text Sentence being played
- text Search result
- text Intervention cited by the link you opened
Click a sentence to play the video from that moment. Select text to quote it with the speaker, timestamp and link.
More options
Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia Australian Parliament
10:03 - 12:22
Speaker 18
Hearing of the senate select committee on productivity in Australia. I acknowledge the traditional owners. The committee will be conducting today's hearing in person and via video conference. I'm senator Bragg, committee chair, and I'm joined by senator Gregor, senator Mackenzie, senator Ananda Raja, and senator Kavacic. These are public proceedings being filmed live via the parliamentary website, and a Hansard transcript is being made.
I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be taken by the senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. Witnesses have a right to be heard in camera. The senate has resolved that an officer of a department of the Commonwealth or of a state shall not be asked to give opinions on matters of policy and shall be given reasonable opportunity to refer questions asked of the officer...
To superior officers or to a minister. This resolution does not preclude questions asking for explanations of policies or factual questions about when and how policies were adopted. If a witness objects to answering a question, they should state the ground upon which the objection is made, and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer having regard to the ground which is claimed. If the committee determines to insist upon an answer, a witness may request that the answer be given in camera. Commonwealth officers appearing today are also reminded of the senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity should be raised.
A copy of the order is available from the secretariat. I remind senators of the obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians to treat witnesses with dignity, courtesy, fairness, and respect. I remind committee members and witnesses who are appearing via video conference who are not speaking to meet their microphones. So I now welcome representatives from the Housing Industry Association National Growth Alliance and the Urban Task Force of Australia. I understand that information on parliamentary privilege and the protection of witnesses giving evidence to senate committees has been provided to you.
The rest of the transcript is for Pro customers
Unlock the full transcript, chat, and every analysis feature with Polyfact Pro.
The video itself stays free to watch, in full, no account needed.
Start a free trial