Mr. Speaker, when I asked the minister a couple of days ago about why the government had baked so much secrecy into its Senate appointment process, she responded by hiding behind the courts.
Her suggestion that the courts had interpreted the Constitution to require secrecy at any stage, let alone at all stages, of the appointment process is just wrong. What the Supreme Court actually says, in paragraph 50 of its Senate reference ruling, is that the practice of appointing senators on the advice of the Prime Minister is nothing more than a non-justiciable convention.
Given that the courts do not require it, what is the real reason for all the secrecy?