Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. We had a similar question last week, which I answered in full. I say again: Mr Andrews did appear on that show. He did so with his face blacked out because he was concerned for his own safety. He did so because he had been threatened previously when giving evidence. In preparation for that interview, Mr Andrews sought and received assistance from the department on liability issues so that he would not either contravene the Public Service Code of Conduct or in fact make libellous comments. Those were the reasons.

He also provided the information of his notes to my office. My office did not coach him in any way. What he was referring to was not as a public servant of the Commonwealth; it was to his time as an officer working on behalf of the Northern Territory government in Mutitjulu. That is what he was commenting on in the Lateline program. What I find disturbing here is the Labor Party’s continual focus on a whistleblower, a person who wishes to lift the—

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