Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The member has raised comments and statements I've made in this House regarding this specific matter regarding 4 April. Let me say what I have said in this House. The evidence provided today was that Sport Australia advised the committee this morning that they received a brief from Senator McKenzie dated 4 April 2019. That was the evidence. That's what I said. From a later question: the authority approving those projects was signed, dated 4 April 2019. The testimony today from Sport Australia—another response—was that they received a brief from Senator McKenzie dated 4 April 2019. It was authorised by the minister 4 April 2019. That's when the approval was given. I've been very clear in this House about when that authority was provided for that brief, which was on 4 April. I don't think it can be any clearer.

The Leader of the Opposition seeks to come to the dispatch box and treat question time as smear time, to treat question time as baseless assertion time. The Australian people can see through a Leader of the Opposition who is so desperate that he has to resort to smears and assertions when the real issues that Australians are facing today—

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