Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

It is important to suspend standing orders because Australia has been reminded of the character of this Prime Minister and of this Attorney-General. Never could we have imagined such a scenario. I know there are good members of the government—perhaps not those who are yelling out—who are deeply uneasy at this open attack on an independent statutory office holder.

I congratulate the member for Wentworth, who has come out and been supportive of Gillian Triggs. I also acknowledge that the foreign minister seems to have some quiet confidence in Gillian Triggs. And I know there are more of you out there—probably even more than supported the spill motion. This is why we have to support the suspension of standing orders motion.

No government minister should be proud of the last 48 hours. No government minister should be proud of the absolute plumbing of the depths and this attack on this respected, independent person. What is it about the Abbott government and the Attorney-General that they do not understand the separation of powers? What is it about this government that, when the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission comes down with a report that the government does not like, all of a sudden the independent office holder must go?

Please, members of the government, Attorney-General and Prime Minister, do not treat Australians as mugs and say: 'No resignation was sought and no alternative job was offered'. We can play the word games, Mr Prime Minister. You can talk about how 'no inducement was given'. Your messenger said to the President of the Human Rights Commission, 'the government no longer has confidence in you'—there you go, character assassinating again.

But they knew they could not sack this office holder, so the clear implication of saying to Gillian Triggs, 'The government has no confidence in you,' is 'You must resign'. That is the clear implication. Then, they said: 'We will look after you. We will find you a special role.' Now the government has said today in parliament, 'There was no special role offered'. Yet, yesterday, the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department said there was a role offered.

The foreign minister was left to hang out a bit today when she said, 'no special role was offered'. Yet it was in Hansard yesterday that the secretary of the department said there was. Someone is not telling the truth here, and I believe it starts with the Attorney-General and it starts with the Prime Minister.

What the government needs to understand is that, rather than shooting the messenger as they are doing here, they should be taking heed of the message. I believe that many Australians, be they Liberal or Labor supporters, or any other party, they have— (Time expired)

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