Senator O'SULLIVAN (Western Australia—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (15:30): I will associate myself with colleagues of mine who have stood up and made a contribution on the very important issue of transparency. We heard about it throughout the election campaign. Indeed, I was elected in 2019, and almost every question time the topic of transparency and integrity was raised. It was something that the Albanese government—then the Albanese opposition—took to the Australian people, saying they were going to be the new measure of transparency, as Australians expect. However, over nearly 12 months now, a pattern of complete avoidance of transparency has developed, and when there is an opportunity to be up-front and transparent this government doesn't take it seriously. I associate myself with everything Senator Ruston, Senator Cash and Senator Bragg have said. I thought it was quite interesting that Senator Cash, in the contribution that she made, reflected on some of the comments that my colleagues on the other side were making in the last term, when they were on this side. Senator Cash referenced a statement that my good friend Senator Sheldon made. He said that when questions are asked there should be progress—or words to that effect. He said that things should happen, and he was absolutely right. What we need to see is this government starting to take its responsibilities more seriously. At the very least, those opposite need to take this chamber and the processes Senator Bragg was speaking about more seriously and understand the importance of their role in ensuring good accountability and good government. I was going through some of the questions that Senator Ruston is waiting on—questions that she's put to the Minister for Health and Aged Care in relation to various issues of the health portfolio. They're hardly 'gotcha' questions; they're not there just to trip the government up. Some of them relate to very serious issues that many Australians are facing. Just over 12 months ago, I had someone come into my office; it was the father of a child who has juvenile diabetes. This father—Geoff was his name—explained to me that, for a child who has a continuous glucose monitoring device, the worst day of their life is their 21st birthday because that's when they lose access to that device. It's not covered by Medicare for adults. Many of my colleagues would have heard similar stories in their electorate offices as people came forward. There was quite an active campaign to convince the government of the day that it was important to ensure that adults got access to those devices. I remember engaging with the minister for health. Through the election campaign, the health minister at the time, Greg Hunt, made a commitment on behalf of the Australian government that, should the coalition be elected, they would provide those devices to adults. Thankfully, the Labor party matched that commitment. So here we have a question that goes to what you are doing. You said you would do it. It was part of your election commitment. Senator Hughes: They jumped on the 'me too' bandwagon. Senator O'SULLIVAN: You jumped on the 'me too' bandwagon. That's right, Senator Hughes. They jumped straight on it, and that's good. We applauded the fact that there was unanimity on this issue, and Australians were very grateful for that. So here's a question—it's not a 'gotcha' question; it's just a very straightforward question—about the implementation of that change and that program: how many additional devices are estimated to be required to meet the demand? It is a pretty basic question. There is nothing there to trip the government up. How many patients are waiting to access the device? It is pretty straightforward. Is there a shortage of continuous glucose-monitoring devices for type 1 diabetic patients? Again, it is pretty straightforward. How is the department triaging which patients have access to a device? The point is that not only is it important to ensure that we have transparency and that the integrity of the government is intact and that they're respecting the process, as Senator Bragg was talking about, so that we can ask these questions and have them responded to in a timely fashion; it actually goes to very serious issues. As Senator Sheldon was saying, if we want to see progress then we've got to see answers to these questions. So that's why we ask these questions. It's why these questions are there, and expecting a response is important. Having those responses come in a timely fashion is critical, because it actually impacts people's lives. It's disappointing that families look to a 21st birthday as actually the biggest disappointment. Most people look to their 21st birthday as a big celebration, but, sadly, for too many people who are becoming adults and progressing through their lives, if they have type 1 diabetes and they're going to lose access to that device, it's obviously going to have a dramatic impact on their wellbeing and their health. So that's what this is about. It's more than just transparency and integrity; it's about people's lives. I urge this government to take its job seriously. You weren't just elected to hold a position; you were elected to lead and to actually deliver the services that Australians expect you to deliver. Good taxpayers are paying for the delivery of those services, so I implore you to take this job seriously. Don't treat us with contempt. Don't treat this place, the Senate, with contempt, because you're not just working against the institution; you're actually working against the Australian people, who expect more and expect you to stand up for them. Question agreed to.