Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. When deciding whether the Attorney-General was a fit and proper person to remain in his role, why did the Prime Minister listen to the Attorney-General but not bother to read the alleged victim's own words?

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

I thank the member for her question, because the events of that week were as follows. On the Wednesday of that week, I became aware that an anonymous set of allegations had been forwarded to a number of members: two members of this House, the member for Curtin and myself; and to Senator Hanson-Young and to Senator Wong. On that Wednesday, those documents had not arrived at my office. They arrived at my office late on the Friday afternoon here in Canberra. They were not electronic documents; they were formal documents.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms Ryan interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members on my left! The member for Lalor is warned.

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

They arrived in my office in Canberra on Friday afternoon. I was in Sydney on Friday afternoon. On the Wednesday, at the suggestion of the department secretary and the deputy secretary of the department, I contacted the commissioner of the Federal Police, because I had been advised that the member for Curtin had passed these documents to the AFP liaison officer and this was now a matter with the Federal Police, and for that to be referred as necessary to whichever jurisdiction may be involved in any investigation. I sought from the commissioner a briefing at that time on what the contents of those allegations were. I did not have them; they were not things that I could read at that time. I asked the commissioner whether it was appropriate for me to now raise those matters with the Attorney-General, which I did, and he vigorously denied those allegations on the matters that were raised in those documents.

In addition to that, the commissioner of the Federal Police advised all members of this place that, where we receive such documents, they should be forwarded to the Federal Police, because they are the appropriate and competent authorities to determine the veracity of any allegations. That is exactly what I did because I believe that the police are the appropriate authority to test such materials. I did not have a formal copy to read on the Wednesday, and, on the Friday, my formal copy was immediately forwarded to the Federal Police, where it should have been forwarded. I have been briefed—

An opposition member interjecting—

I have made no copies of these documents. The documents were provided to the Federal Police, and I was briefed on the contents of those documents by the police commissioner. So, based on that, I raised the matter with the Attorney-General, and that's where the matter stands.