. wit. Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash Minister for Employment Minister for Women Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service Senator Richard Di Natale Leader of the Australian Greens Senator for Victoria Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Senator Con?dential Reports of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption I refer to my previous letter to you of 29 January 2016. The Government has decided to give the Australian Greens the opportunity to inspect the con?dential volumes of the reports of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. That inspection will, if you agree, be undertaken by you personally, in your capacity as Leader of the Australian Greens, on the terms set out in this letter. These are the same terms as the opportunity to inspect the con?dential volumes is being offered to designated spokespeople of other political parties, as well as crossbench and independent Senators who have made a request for access. The con?dential volumes contain information on threats and acts of violence against witnesses of the Royal Commission, as well as details of ongoing police investigations and current and pending criminal prosecutions. The con?dential volume of the interim report is subject to a non?publication direction by the Commissioner under section 6D of the Royal Commission Act 1902. However, the order allows the Government to provide access to the report to appropriate individuals under certain conditions. The Government proposes to apply similar conditions to the con?dential volume of the ?nal report. IHSpection of the con?dential volumes will be on the following conditions: 1. Inspection of the volumes is to be in the presence of an of?cer of the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet; No other individuals will be permitted to view the volumes; No notes may be taken or any material copied, including by the taking of photographs; The details or nature of the material in the volumes may not be disclosed to third parties; and None of the material is to be removed from the room or the presence of the of?cials of the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet. 9.435339 In addition, the Government will impose one further restriction on your inspection of the volumes, that the names of individuals or of entities that may identify individuals, will be redacted from the copy of the reports made available for inspection. This is to protect not only those individuals, but also to protect you. Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone (02) 6277 7320 Fax (02) 6273 41 IS 2 Upon receipt of your agreement in writing to these conditions I will instruct the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet to make the necessaiy arrangements for access at Parliament House. Yours sincerely ?4 Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash I 1/ 2016 Minister for Employment Minister for Women Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service Senator Richard Di Natale Leader of the Australian Greens Senator for Victoria Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Senator Con?dential Reports of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption 1 refer to your letter of 18 January 2016 in relation the con?dential volumes of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption in which you request that the con?dential volumes ?be made available to all interested parties and independent members of the Australian Parliament.? The ?rst con?dential volume is subject to a non-publication order made by Commissioner Heydon under the Royal Commissions Act 1902. This order prohibits the public release of this volume and also imposes strict limits and conditions under which its contents can be viewed. The second con?dential volume is subject to a recommendation by Commissioner Heydon that it not be made public. These rulings by Commissioner Heydon do not prevent the Government from providing limited access to these volumes to appropriate individuals. The reasons for these volumes remaining con?dential are extremely serious. Commissioner Heydon has indicated that a number of witnesses who provided evidence to the Royal Commission were the subject of serious threats and that exposure of their identities would create grave risks to their physical safety and that of their families. Furthermore, the second con?dential volume includes details of police investigations and prosecutions that are currently underway. Disclosure of these details would risk compromising those investigations and prosecutions. As you are aware, certain crossbench Senators have requested access to the con?dential volumes on the basis of their role as Senators in order to gain a greater understanding of the context in which the Government has proposed legislation to address unlawful behaviour, including the kind of behaviour referred to in the volumes. The fate of this legislation rests with these Senators. Given the signi?cant public interest in both this legislation and the need to address the behaviour referred to in the volumes, the Govemment has agreed to provide access to these Senators only, under strict con?dentiality provisions. In contrast, the grounds put forward by the Greens for providing such wide access to the con?dential volumes do not demonstrate a public interest that would outweigh the risks to witnesses and investigations that could arise in providing access in the manner you have proposed. Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone (02) 6277 7320 Fax (02) 6273 41 IS Accordingly, I am declining your request to make the volumes available in the terms sought. Yours sincerely mdf'jK Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash ff/ 1 2015