Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

The hypocrisy of those opposite in coming in here and moving this motion, which directly contradicts everything that they said when they sat on the government benches, is just extraordinary. I have already indicated the examples of the member for Moreton, the member for Bonner and the member for Bowman. What they said then—the former Prime Minister, the shadow Attorney-General and the now Leader of the Opposition—was that it was entirely inappropriate for the parliament to consider matters which are under investigation. They could not have been clearer. The shadow Attorney-General, Senator Brandis, said:

I think people who let us remind ourselves [that we] are entitled to the presumption of innocence ...

Particularly since these people are Members of Parliament ...

I ask you to compare that rhetoric with what is in the motion moved by the member for Sturt. It has argument and it purports to find outcomes relating to the member for Dobell without any process whatsoever. We in this country have a separation of the judiciary from parliamentary processes. It is a very dangerous slippery slope when the parliament sets itself up for the sort of engagement and grubby behaviour that we are seeing here.

Opposition members interjecting—

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