Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

In terms of what someone does when they provide a reference, they're not simply providing a reference themselves as friends of somebody. If a reference is provided by a minister then it is treated differently because of their role on behalf of Australia, for which they are accountable here. That's what a ministerial reference is. Similarly, if it's someone from within a ministerial office, it has to be a reasonable line of inquiry for us to pursue whether or not the name of the government of Australia has been used to assist this individual getting a job.

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