Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I am referring to things that have been reported in the newspapers that have not been findings of fact by the royal commission. I am asking questions that the Leader of the Opposition needs to answer. The last one was: was the $2,000 that his campaign received from the Industry 2020 slush fund the only benefit that the Leader of the Opposition received from Cesar Melhem's activities? Today, in the Fairfax press, we see 'Shorten's $1m union bonanza'. Why did Thiess John Holland regard the payment of $300,000 to the AWU as 'an acknowledgement of the flexibility of the AWU deal'? What does 'acknowledgement of the flexibility of the AWU deal' mean? These are matters that are within the knowledge of the Leader of the Opposition, and that is why he needs to answer those questions. He cannot wait till August. The member for Port Adelaide answered those questions on Wednesday. Why can't the Leader of the Opposition answer them today?

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