Opposition reply and two committee reports

Budget replying

If you are staying across commentary on reactions to this year's Budget, you'll have seen it's one that is dividing many across the economy and community. This means MPs will obviously be hyper-focused on the detail of how the measures needing legislative and regulatory change pass through the Parliament.

As noted in previous briefs, the Leader of the Opposition, The Hon Angus Taylor MP and Member for Hume (NSW) delivers the Budget reply speech this evening. If you've just joined Krafted., this is the speech that sets the Coalition's counter-narrative and, more importantly, signals which Budget measures they intend to oppose, amend, or let through.

Also today, the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee tables its report on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 (aph.gov.au). If you track telecommunications, regional infrastructure, or digital connectivity, this report will shape the bill's passage. I'll provide key points tomorrow.

On a note of omission from my summaries earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the Senate Standing Committee of Privileges tabled its 189th report, on the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) handling of documents and communications (aph.gov.au). This was tabled two days ahead of schedule (and I've now been able to tweak my eyes as a result), summarised:

• The inquiry was a result of detailed examination of senior DPS officials across last year's Senate Estimates hearings and looked at DPS extraction of bulk email data from the parliamentary computing network to support an administrative investigation into an incentive-to-retire payment to a former Deputy Secretary.
• The committee found DPS and the Attorney-General's Department hold an overly narrow view of parliamentary privilege. Both treated the immunity of parliamentary proceedings as limited to courts and tribunals under section 16 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, a position the Senate has explicitly rejected (aph.gov.au). The Committee's three recommendations focus on changes to DPS procedures to ensure such data extraction cannot happen again; it also noted that one DPS employee was terminated and two others resigned as a result of breaching the APS Code of Conduct.

Budget implementation bills may start appearing on the Notice Paper from today. If you're a Nest subscriber, you'll see them in the app them as they're tabled.

— Mia