Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's part of the duty of a member of parliament to make representations on behalf of constituents to various governmental and other official bodies. Like others in this place, I make these representations based on the information provided to me by my constituents. In doing so, I'm not making a judgement about the veracity of the information and claims of my constituents. That judgement is a matter for the agency or body to which the representations are made.

While I'll continue to fulfil this important role on behalf of my constituents, I wish to stress that such representations should not be used by other individuals or organisations to imply support for their activities. As both you, Mr Speaker, and I experienced recently, the fact that we made representations on behalf of a constituent was used inappropriately by the National Federation of Independent Business to imply our support for the activities of the federation and to attract membership. The federation is entitled to seek membership from individuals and businesses, but it should not use the fact that you and I have made representations on behalf of a constituent as a vehicle to attract members.

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