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

Mr Speaker, I agree with your assessment about the relationship between a minister and a staff member who became a former staff member. But, leaving aside that issue and your preliminary view on that, what the Manager of Opposition Business did just then was reframe the question. The question was, 'Did any minister or ministerial adviser give the person in question a written or verbal reference?' At that point you've got a question about whether or not a staff member gave a former staff member a reference, potentially written or verbal, with respect to a job outside government. Even if a minister were to try and inquire as to whether or not that had occurred, there would be no mechanism by which you could properly receive an answer. It's just actually not possible to answer that question, I don't think.

Honourable members interjecting—

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