Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In question time on 15 February the Prime Minister defended preferencing One Nation with these words:

… parties will reach preference deals in order to maximise their chances of success.

Does the Prime Minister stand by the answer he gave in question time that day and, if so, how can this still reflect the position of the government given today's allegations and their implications for the required probity between members of parliament and the Australian Electoral Commission? When will the government depart from that answer and stop pretending that One Nation is the same as any other political party?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can understand why the opposition does not want to ask any questions about schools or the NDIS or Medicare; I can understand why they are not interested in asking questions about energy or the budget. They are only interested in politics. The answer I gave back in February, to which the honourable member refers, was a penetrating glimpse of the obvious—just as penetrating and just as obvious as the fact that the AFP should be allowed to get on with their job, free from political interference.