George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that section 139.2 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code makes it an offence punishable by 12 years imprisonment for a member of either house of the Commonwealth parliament to make an unwarranted demand with menaces directly or indirectly related to any influence the member of parliament may have with the intention of causing a loss to a person and given what is already known of this incident, as acknowledged by both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, does the minister not consider it is now appropriate for a reference to the Director of Public Prosecutions to be made?