Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department was asked about Professor Triggs:

Did you understand that he wanted her to resign?

And Mr Moraitis replied:

That was an option I understood from that discussion.

But today the Prime Minister directly contradicted the secretary of the department. So, Prime Minister, who is telling the truth?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is right: not the Leader of the Opposition. I stand by the comments that I made in this parliament yesterday and I stand by the comments I made earlier today in Sydney. The bottom line here is that there was an inquiry into children in detention. It did not take place when there were 2,000 children in detention under members opposite. It did not task place then, because the president of the Human Rights Commission had a discussion with Labor ministers and thought that it would be a political inquiry. So, having refused to have a political inquiry when there were almost 2,000 children in detention, she goes ahead and has a political inquiry when there are under 200 children in detention.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Prime Minister is making no attempt to be relevant to the question that he has been asked. Direct relevance is what is called for.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, let me make it crystal clear. Members of the government are happy to take any number of questions on this subject, because the president of the commission has not been asked to resign and no inducement has been offered. The president of the commission herself seems to agree that no inducement has been offered. All of these questions indicate that this government has succeeded in stopping the boats and getting children out of detention, which is the real issue. Getting children out of detention is the real issue. This government has succeeded; members opposite monumentally failed.