Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

It's not unlike the shadow Attorney-General to read only half the provision. 9(2) says:

Subclause (1) does not apply to the disclosure or publication by a person of a matter of which the person has become aware otherwise than because of the giving of any evidence before, or the production of any document to, the Committee.

I can send you a hard copy later. Yesterday we were asked by the shadow Attorney-General whether we were aware of a newspaper article that, in his words, appears to quote from what may or may not have been a confidential submission to the joint committee. Appearances are never more deceiving than when they are apparitions of the shadow A-G. Last night I did speak with the Commissioner of the AFP. Further, I also sought summary information around the prior circulation of the material that later came to be submitted in a letter by the commissioner to the joint committee. The commissioner confirmed that the submission was not potentially or operationally sensitive or security classified. The material contained in the letter was material that received circulation before it was produced as a document to the committee, so it would actually appear—

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