This afternoon in the Senate, the Albanese Labor Government – backed by the Greens – voted against reinstating two critical standalone Estimates hearings that had been scheduled for Monday, 13 October 2025: the Cross Portfolio Indigenous Matters and the Cross Portfolio Murray-Darling Basin Plan hearings.
These hearings have long been a fixture of the Senate Estimates program, providing a dedicated forum for scrutiny of each of two of the nation’s most pressing and complex policy areas. Yet this morning, in a late amendment before the Senate that the Coalition had not seen, Labor made a calculated decision to axe them – seeking instead to fold both hearings into an already crowded day’s program, effectively diluting the time available for rigorous questioning.
The decision is nothing short of a deliberate move to evade scrutiny.
And disappointingly, the Greens – despite their frequent public posturing on transparency and environmental protection – sided with the Government to shut these standalone sessions down. The political hypocrisy is staggering.
This is particularly egregious given the current context: the devastating algal bloom crisis choking coastal communities across South Australia. And, as Senator Jonno Duniam noted today in the Senate, many of the Closing the Gap targets remain unmet or off track – issues that demand direct accountability in the Indigenous Affairs hearing.
By scrapping these sessions, Labor and the Greens have actively undermined transparency and accountability in areas where Australians deserve the highest standards of both.
Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate, Senator Duniam, said, “This is the first time in 17 years that Indigenous matters have not had their own standalone hearing.”
“This is the most secretive Government in living memory – and instead of fronting up to scrutiny, Labor has teamed up with the Greens to actively avoid it.”
“Senate Estimates hearings are a critical forum for Senators to question the spending of taxpayer funds and hold the Government to account. Yet, rather than opening themselves to that accountability, Labor and the Greens have conspired to shut them down.”
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Kerrynne Liddle, said the Albanese Government, by removing Cross-Portfolio Indigenous Matters from Senate Estimates, has shut the door on accountability.
“The Coalition would have prosecuted why four Closing the Gap targets are going backwards.
“We also would have sought an answer to why Aboriginal communities in Central Australia are not feeling safer or optimistic for their future despite the Albanese Government throwing $300 million at its Better, Safer Future for Central Australia Plan.
“The Coalition also holds significant concerns regarding the fact we can no longer ask ORIC what it is doing about the 1254 Indigenous organisations that failed to fulfil mandatory reporting requirements for the 2023/24 Financial Year.”