15th Oct 2015, 12:18 PM – Senate Documents — Nous Group; Order for the Production of Documents

The Senate passed the motion:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Education and Training, no later than 3.30 pm on Thursday, 15 October 2015, the following:

(a) a redacted copy of any reports delivered under the Nous Group contract, ‘Assessment of Stakeholder Views—Higher Education’ listed on the Austender website (contract number CN3277481), omitting any reference to the views expressed by individual senators or their staff; and

(b) all other documentation related to the contract, including the contract itself and any correspondence between the Nous Group and the Minister or his department, omitting any reference to the views expressed by individual senators or their staff.

The motion was presented by Kim Carr on behalf of themselves, Jacqui Lambie, Glenn Lazarus and Rachel Siewert.

Following this division, Kim Carr published a press release further explaining their position and motivations behind this motion.

The Guardian had previously reported on the contract reference in this motion in “Coalition paying $150,000 to outsource higher education negotiations: Talks with Senate crossbenchers and universities are being led by Robert Griew of Nous Group, which won contract to assess ‘stakeholder views’” (7 August 2015).