Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee
3 September 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 4 Sept 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 Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee Australian Parliament
12:12 - 14:16
Speaker 8
The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee's inquiry into the management of defence estate assets. The committee will be conducting today's hearing in person. I'm Senator Collins, chair of the committee, and I'm joined by deputy chair Senator Ciccone via video conference, as well as Senator McLachlan, and Senator Shoebridge is on his way in person. These are public proceedings being video streamed live via the Parliament's 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 treated by the Senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. Witnesses also have a right to request 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 on 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 now welcome the Department of Defence, and I understand that information on parliamentary privilege has been provided to you. For the Hansard record, would you please state your full names and the capacity in which you appear today?
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