Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Something that is off the record should remain off the record. Something that is on the record, if it is newsworthy, should be dealt with in the normal news circle and not saved for some later purpose two years later and used for some other entirely unacceptable purpose. The issue to do with the Treasurer which was apparently the subject of some conversation, however interpreted by the journalists, has been denied by the Treasurer. It is interesting that the Treasurer has pointed out, very appropriately I would suggest, that a conversation that has been alluded to by the journalists in question apparently was not recorded at the time at which it was made and has been substantially reconstructed from recollections of the conversation. The Treasurer has said very plainly and publicly that he had no recollection of three journalists scribbling away to provide an accurate record of a conversation that was alleged to have taken place.

As I was not there, I do not think it is appropriate for me to speculate further about the particular event. Suffice to say that the substance of it has been totally dealt with, completely and utterly dealt with, in terms of the leadership of the Liberal Party. It has been dealt with between the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. It has been comprehensively dealt with by the Treasurer agreeing to serve as Treasurer and the Prime Minister agreeing to serve as Prime Minister, and the Australian public have never had such a government.