NO.028

2007-08 Budget – Media Lock-Up Arrangements

The Treasurer will deliver the 2007-08 Budget at 7.30 pm AEST on Tuesday 8 May 2007. The usual lock-up arrangements will again be available for media organisations in Parliament House, Canberra. The lock-up will begin at 1.30 pm AEST and conclude when the Treasurer begins his speech in Parliament at approximately 7.30 pm.

As usual, security considerations are paramount in the lock-up arrangements. To obtain entry to the lock-up, media representatives must submit their name and the name of the organisation they will be representing by cob 27 April 2007. Approved attendees will then be required to sign and have witnessed by a Treasury official the necessary ‘Form of Undertaking’. Attendees will also be required to produce proof of their bona fides as an employee of a media organisation prior to signing the Undertaking and thereupon will gain entry to the lock-up. A copy of the Undertaking format is attached for information.

No provision for entry can be made for non-media groups or individuals.

In line with previous arrangements, attendees must undertake not to bring into the lock-up equipment (including Personal Data Assistants) capable of transmitting information outside the lock-up (unless specifically approved by a Treasury official).

As has occurred in previous years, the lock-up area will be monitored for detection of non-authorised wireless transmissions of information and all attendees will be required to pass through a metal detector before entering the lock-up. This may cause some congestion which organisations will need to take into account.

Any breach in the letter and spirit of the Undertaking and in the use of the lock-up facility will be regarded extremely seriously. Your particular attention is drawn to the fact that breaches of the terms of the Undertaking may be in contravention of section 79(3) of the Crimes Act 1914, a copy of which is also attached. Penalties include possible imprisonment up to two years.

Note also that an important requirement of the Form of Undertaking stipulates that Budget information is not to be broadcast by any media outlets before the Treasurer conveys it to Parliament.

As in past years, arrangements may be made for secure landlines to group headquarters of the approved major print organisations for sub-editing purposes only. Entry to these sub-lockups is restricted to sub-editorial staff only – journalists are not permitted. These arrangements involve the establishment of a secure area on the news organisations’ premises which is supervised by Commonwealth staff for the duration of the Canberra lock-up. Any communication between the Canberra lock-up and the sub-lockups will require security encryption – absolutely no transmission will take place without encryption.

As usual, participating organisations will bear their own costs of participation and attendance.

The Budget documents, including the Treasurer’s speech will be electronically available at the lock-up. The electronic version can be saved on disk in any available format.

Media representatives requesting access to the lock-up must inform Treasury of the following:

General

Due to the usual limited space available, organisations must restrict their representation to the minimum number of essential employees only.

Please be advised that Parliament House is a smoke free environment and all lock-ups will be conducted in non-smoking areas. All attendees to the lock-up held in Parliament House must vacate the lock-up area (Committee rooms) by 9.00 pm on the night, unless prior approval has been granted for an extension.

You are reminded of the terms and conditions for entry to the Budget lock-ups. We particularly remind prospective attendees that:

Storage facilities for such equipment will be available at the lock-up entrance. There will be no contact outside the lock-up other than with the use of approved secure communication links. As mentioned above, any breach of the undertaking will be regarded most seriously.

Copies of the Budget and associated documents will be on sale in Canberra at the CanPrint Communication Pty Ltd shopfront from 7.30 pm (AEST) on Tuesday 8 May 2007. Details on how to purchase Budget documents for the States is available on the central Budget website at www.budget.gov.au and, consistent with previous years, the Budget documents will be available online at the same site from 7.30 pm AEST on Budget night.

Any general questions relating to the lock-ups should be directed to Ray Gavin (02) 6263 3736 or Kerrin Mercer (02) 6263 2794 at the Treasury.

CANBERRA

18 April 2007

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