Australian public servant social media protection debate

The Australian Senate has initiated inquiries into requests from senior public servants to restrict the sharing of parliamentary evidence on social media. The controversy began when the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and other officials, such as Defence Deputy Secretary Celia Perkins, expressed concerns that witnesses do not consent to their likenesses or evidence being reproduced on social media platforms outside of the parliamentary framework.

During Senate Estimates hearings, PM&C Secretary Steven Kennedy advocated for greater protection for bureaucrats against online hostility. Kennedy testified that misleadingly edited posts can “invite ridicule, hostility or abuse directed at individual public servants,” noting that female and First Nations officials often face the most severe abuse. While Kennedy stated he was not advocating for censorship, he requested that politicians remove “vile abuse” from social media commentary related to their posts.

Critics, including Senator David Shoebridge, have challenged these efforts, arguing that evidence provided during open public hearings should not be subject to censorship by the witnesses themselves.