Once you open your mouth, you’re on your own

Dear Editor,

Defence deputy secretary Celia Perkins told a public Senate inquiry that she and her colleagues did not consent to footage of their evidence being reposted on social media.

The committee suspended proceedings, sought advice from the Senate Clerk, then told her she could not impose that condition.

That matters.

Defence officials appearing before Parliament are there to answer for how Defence spends public money and makes public decisions. Their evidence is part of the public record.

They do not get to decide which uncomfortable exchanges Australians can see and share.

My old advice still applies – once you open your mouth, you’re on your own. I could suggest what to say and how to say it, but accepting or rejecting that advice was their decision. Once they spoke, journalists, political opponents and the public were entitled to examine their answers, whether they liked the attention or not.

Parliament decides the rules of scrutiny, not Defence.

I expand on this at markcroxford.net/read

Mark Croxford
Founder, Veterans Count,
20-year Navy veteran, and
former media and political adviser to multiple Ministers including the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel

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SCREENSHOT: Defence deputy secretary Celia Perkins appearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on 4 September 2026. Source: Australian Parliament, Senate hearing broadcast.

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