Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move the following motion:

That the House:

  (1) notes that:

     (a) on the evening of 23 October 2019, The Guardian reported the Minister for Emissions Reduction had used incorrect figures from the City of Sydney Annual Report 2017-18 in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

     (b) on 24 October 2019, the Minister told the House "The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney's website";

     (c) despite the Minister's claim, all the evidence to date is that no such document ever existed on the website, the altered document has only ever been produced by the Minister's office and the doctored figures have only ever been used by the Minister in his official Ministerial correspondence;

     (d) today, the NSW Police confirmed that it had launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate the matter; and

     (e) paragraph 7.1 of the Ministerial Standards make clear that it is for the Prime Minister to stand aside a Minister if that Minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal conduct; and

  (2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to do what only he can under the Ministerial Standards and immediately stand the Minister for Emissions Reduction down.

Leave not granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

  (1) notes that:

     (a) on the evening of 23 October 2019, The Guardian reported the Minister for Emissions Reduction had used incorrect figures from the City of Sydney Annual Report 2017-18 in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

     (b) on 24 October 2019, the Minister told the House "The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney's website";

     (c) despite the Minister's claim, all the evidence to date is that no such document ever existed on the website, the altered document has only ever been produced by the Minister's office and the doctored figures have only ever been used by the Minister in his official Ministerial correspondence;

     (d) today, the NSW Police confirmed that it had launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate the matter; and

     (e) paragraph 7.1 of the Ministerial Standards make clear that it is for the Prime Minister to stand aside a Minister if that Minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal conduct; and

  (2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to do what only he can under the Ministerial Standards and immediately stand the Minister for Emissions Reduction down.

The fact is: they don't like scrutiny—

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