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| John Faulkner voices spying fears after parliament CCTV captures meeting | John Faulkner voices spying fears after parliament CCTV captures meeting |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Senator John Faulkner has accused the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) of spying on him via CCTV cameras. | Senator John Faulkner has accused the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) of spying on him via CCTV cameras. |
| Faulkner grilled the head of the DPS, Carol Mills, in a Senate estimates hearing on Monday in which she admitted CCTV footage was accessed while trying to discipline a DPS employee. | Faulkner grilled the head of the DPS, Carol Mills, in a Senate estimates hearing on Monday in which she admitted CCTV footage was accessed while trying to discipline a DPS employee. |
| It is understood Faulkner’s office was filmed so anyone meeting with him would have been filmed, which is a breach of parliamentary privilege. | |
| Faulkner was visibly angry in the exchange, suggesting politicians and DPS staff could be “spied on” in parliament buildings. | Faulkner was visibly angry in the exchange, suggesting politicians and DPS staff could be “spied on” in parliament buildings. |
| He asked Mills directly if the breach involved him, to which she replied “it may do”. | He asked Mills directly if the breach involved him, to which she replied “it may do”. |
| “[It is] a serious breach that a senator in this parliament has been spied on in that way as they go about the proper conduct of their duties. No one in this place is ever going to accept that,” he said. | “[It is] a serious breach that a senator in this parliament has been spied on in that way as they go about the proper conduct of their duties. No one in this place is ever going to accept that,” he said. |
| “Is a senator involved, has a senator been spied on?” Faulkner had earlier asked. | “Is a senator involved, has a senator been spied on?” Faulkner had earlier asked. |
| “Nobody’s been spied on,” Mills replied. | “Nobody’s been spied on,” Mills replied. |
| Faulkner wanted assurance that at no stage CCTV footage had been used to “impede, affect or have any impact on” either the members of the lower or upper houses. | Faulkner wanted assurance that at no stage CCTV footage had been used to “impede, affect or have any impact on” either the members of the lower or upper houses. |
| Mills responded: “It is my belief that DPS endeavours at all times to accord with that. We operate in very difficult and challenging environment but there is one, and only one, case I’m aware where there has been an inadvertent conflict between staff management issues and the protocol of protection of members’ and senators’ rights to business in the building.” | Mills responded: “It is my belief that DPS endeavours at all times to accord with that. We operate in very difficult and challenging environment but there is one, and only one, case I’m aware where there has been an inadvertent conflict between staff management issues and the protocol of protection of members’ and senators’ rights to business in the building.” |
| Faulkner said he “no longer accepted assurances” that politicians in the house were not being monitored by DSP staff and it was a “very serious” issue that the DPS had accessed CCTV footage in relation to one of its own staff members. | Faulkner said he “no longer accepted assurances” that politicians in the house were not being monitored by DSP staff and it was a “very serious” issue that the DPS had accessed CCTV footage in relation to one of its own staff members. |
| He asked if Mills could guarantee the CCTV was not being used to monitor DPS staff. | He asked if Mills could guarantee the CCTV was not being used to monitor DPS staff. |
| “Not to monitor DPS staff, no, to gather evidence in a potential code of conduct case, around an individual, yes. The notion of monitoring staff would infer a broad-brush approach to following our staff, that’s certainly not the case,” she said. | “Not to monitor DPS staff, no, to gather evidence in a potential code of conduct case, around an individual, yes. The notion of monitoring staff would infer a broad-brush approach to following our staff, that’s certainly not the case,” she said. |
| Faulkner asked to speak to the person who authorised the access to the footage but was told the staff member had resigned and left the DPS earlier in May. | Faulkner asked to speak to the person who authorised the access to the footage but was told the staff member had resigned and left the DPS earlier in May. |
| Mills repeatedly said there was only one instance, to her knowledge, of the footage being accessed to view a staff member and said it was not an “endemic” issue. | Mills repeatedly said there was only one instance, to her knowledge, of the footage being accessed to view a staff member and said it was not an “endemic” issue. |
| When asked for a copy of the Parliament House closed-circuit television code of practice, Mills initially said it was difficult to find on the website but Faulkner said he already had a copy. | When asked for a copy of the Parliament House closed-circuit television code of practice, Mills initially said it was difficult to find on the website but Faulkner said he already had a copy. |
| “I did get a copy of the code by a Google, what’s called a Google search, which of course I didn’t undertake myself as everyone would appreciate, my staff were able to do it for which I do appreciate,” Faulkner said. | “I did get a copy of the code by a Google, what’s called a Google search, which of course I didn’t undertake myself as everyone would appreciate, my staff were able to do it for which I do appreciate,” Faulkner said. |