George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

As I undertook to do when Senator Carr raised this matter for the first time on Thursday, I pursued the matter with the minister’s office and I have been provided by the minister’s office with the following explanation.

As is usual practice in responding to questions on notice arising from the Senate estimates process, the department is preparing responses for all senators, not just Senator Carr. Those responses vary in length and complexity. It is frequently the case that responses are submitted to the Senate across the full time period between the estimates sittings, including up to the day of the next sitting. The responses continue to be prepared and will be submitted to the Senate as soon as they are available.