Australians are familiar with the adversarial shouting and theatrics of Question Time, but it is in the committee rooms, away from the cameras, where the best work happens.

Members and Senators from across the political spectrum sit together to examine complex issues and develop recommendations grounded in expert advice. It is one of the most constructive parts of our democratic system.

Right now, this system has become a black hole into which expert testimony, community experience and months of effort quietly disappear.

The Albanese Government has failed to respond to more than 50 House of Representatives committee inquiries since its election in 2022.

Responses are due within six months of a committee report being tabled in Parliament. Half of these report responses are now overdue by more than a year.

This is not merely lax administration. It is a failure of integrity, accountability and respect. It wastes public resources and delays action on important issues.

The subject matters of these reports cover some of Australia’s most urgent policy challenges: terrorism, illicit drugs, online safety, migration, plastic pollution and energy security.

More than 3,500 experts, industry bodies, academics and everyday Australians have invested significant time and resources to inform these inquiries in good faith. They do so because they believe the government will listen and they expect it to act. But their work goes unrecognised.

Other jurisdictions have begun implementing the kind of reforms we need. The UK, for example, has created publicly accessible dashboards that track the government’s progress in implementing inquiry recommendations.

This kind of transparency would be a great start, allowing Australians to see whether their government is listening or whether it is just using committee processes to stall on difficult issues or make backbenchers look and feel busy.

I’m working to compel the Government to respond to these reports and I will hold them accountable to act on their recommendations. The Government must honour the thousands of people who participate in parliamentary inquiries in good faith. Delay and neglect are squandering public trust and wasting public resources, time and effort.