Peter McGauran (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

This matter of public importance has been useful for one thing and one thing only: we now know what the member for Griffith’s strategy has been over the past few days in asking repetitive and stale questions of the Minister for Trade, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. All of the member for Griffith’s questions with regard to the Iraq issue have been asked before and answered repeatedly, and it has been a mystery to me for some days now as to why the member for Griffith was persisting with an ineffectual strategy. After his contribution to this debate, we now know why: he is setting up to criticise the Cole commission of inquiry before it reports for the simple reason that he now believes that the Cole commission of inquiry’s findings will not substantiate his overblown and exaggerated accusations, allegations and rhetoric. That is what this is about—a deliberate and calculated undermining of the Cole commission of inquiry with, I am afraid to say, barely disguised reflections on the commissioner himself. This is a very important point to note: the member for Griffith is attacking the Cole commission of inquiry. He is seemingly criticising an eminent judge in Justice Cole.

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