Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I will answer that question, but I will not have stand on the record of this parliament the inaccuracies that the Manager of Opposition Business put in his question. That ought not to stand on the record. The record should say this: Ms Sattler's second statement that I would refer the Manager of Opposition Business to—

Opposition members interjecting—

They say they are interested in the details, yet they are not prepared to listen. Ms Sattler said in her second statement:

Reports in today's newspapers are inaccurate.

As I said in my statement yesterday, Tony Hodges from the Prime Minister's office told me what Tony Abbott had said - that people should move on from the tent embassy.

Yesterday the Prime Minister gave an accurate account of my role.

On why I accepted Mr Hodges' resignation after it had been offered: I accepted it because I viewed his conduct as making a grave error of judgment, particularly seeking to introduce a note of partisanship into what should be a bipartisan event on a bipartisan day. That was inappropriate conduct and, as a result, I accepted his resignation. If my standards are too high for the opposition, well so be it.

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