Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for belatedly getting back to part of the question. The minister did not advise us what steps the minister took to ensure that the record was corrected immediately, as required, and we have not been told whether the minister is satisfied that the Wheat Export Authority did all that it could to correct the record, when it must have known that the evidence it gave to estimates was so obviously, blatantly and completely wrong, given the letter that was released yesterday.

Why did the minister choose to bluster and obfuscate during question time yesterday? Was Minister Abetz aware of the letter from Mr Besley during question time yesterday? Had he been briefed by Minister McGauran in relation to that letter and his answer in question time yesterday? And is it true that he knew that the AWB sleazy deal had been known to the Wheat Export Authority? Was this simply another effort to cover up the truth or had the minister simply failed to read the brief?