Jenny McAllister

Senator Jenny McAllister is an Australian Labor Party senator for New South Wales and Labor's Shadow Cabinet Secretary and Shadow Assistant Minister to the Labor leader in the Senate.

Opinion: proper oversight of national security agencies is not a luxury in a democracy – it is a necessity

By Jenny McAllister

Features

Proper oversight of national security agencies is not a luxury in a democracy — it is a necessity, writes Senator Jennifer McAllister. And she is…

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Columnists

The good, the bad, and the ugly ways of explaining oneself in a Senate estimates committee; Wong on song

By Verona Burgess

Editors' Picks

THE OBSERVER: There comes a point when every democratic government bureaucracy needs to remember why it is there, why it has outlived successive political leaders,…

Which agencies got a break from Senate estimates hearings?

By Stephen Easton

Federal

Labor is crying foul over their missed opportunities to quiz public servants after Senate estimates was cut short by the beginning of the election campaign…

Legislature vs executive: auditor-general's independence trumped by budget secrecy

By Stephen Easton

Features

This year, budget secrecy trumped the independence of Commonwealth auditor-general Grant Hehir, and the deputy chair of the parliamentary committee that backs him up is…

Lloyd makes calls on free speech and union-bargaining policies

By Stephen Easton

News

The Australian Public Service Commissioner has provided a new practical example of how the rules on public commentary operate: if a member of parliament mentions…