David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

The honourable senator discloses no understanding whatsoever of parliamentary privilege, but then again he has only been here such a short time that I would not expect him to. That matter has still to be resolved, and of course I am not going to run any form of commentary or adjudication on the investigative officers or their performance. Can I reassure the Senate that at all times the inquiry has been conducted entirely at arm’s length from the Howard government and indeed from me as minister, as it should be. The commissioner has my absolute confidence. If there are complaints to be made, there are well-established and reputable mechanisms which have the utility to receive and properly investigate such complaints. But, in short, to answer the senator’s questions: there has been no interference by me or by anybody known to me from the government. There has been no shredding of documents to emulate the Heiner affair or anything like that and there has been no withdrawal of charges at the eleventh hour, as happened to Joe McDonald in Western Australia. This investigation has been conducted transparently and with integrity, and I do not propose to say anything further.