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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister maintain that the inquiry undertaken by his departmental secretary into the affairs of former Ministers Pyne and Bishop was rigorous and based on a full disclosure of all relevant facts?

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

I'm pleased to table the reply that I was provided by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet that goes into the matter that the member has raised questions over. I have no reason whatsoever to doubt at all the competence of the secretary of the department in relation to these matters. My simple question is: why does the Labor Party seem to question the competency of the secretary? The transparency of the arrangements that he's entered into are there for them to see. All I can see is this is just another attempt by the Labor Party to get into what the former Manager of Government Business used to call the chum bucket. They're going back to the old chum bucket, as they always do. Labor never changes their business model of grubby politics in this place, and this seems to be going down the same track.