In September, we learned that the secretaries’ board, which includes all federal department heads, was pushing for new rules to stop sharing public testimony on social media because it could expose officials to ridicule, hostility, or abuse.
The board’s request appeared to be in response to the recent actions of Celia Perkins, Deputy Secretary of Security and Estate at the Department of Defence, who opened a public Senate committee hearing by reading a prepared statement that attempted to prohibit the reposting of Defence evidence on social media and the reproduction of the likeness of Defence officials outside the formal parliamentary context:
“For the record, the Defence witnesses appearing before the committee today are pleased to take your questions. But they do not consent to the reposting of our evidence to social media sites or the reproduction of our likenesses for the purposes outside the framework of the Parliament and the transparent public proceedings of this committee”, Perkins said.
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