Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

According to contingent orders, Mr Deputy President, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from making a five-minute statement.

I do that because, following on that mechanism being used twice last night, senators ought to know that if they are denied fair response in this place then there are mechanisms to ensure that there will be the opportunity for me or any other senator to make a submission in the wake of another senator. It is important that this motion for the opportunity to debate this matter be upheld by the Senate.

Senator Brandis SC sits on the Committee of Privileges. The matter of Senator Kroger, which was devised by Senator Abetz and brought before this Senate on 23 and 24 November last year, has now been thrown out by the Senate Standing Committee of Privileges. It was found to be baseless, lacking in any substance and containing misinformation which effectively would, if taken up, have misled the Senate. That was Senator Kroger's submission dealt with by the committee of privileges.

But the submission from our legal representatives, Mr Merkel, Ms Gordon and Mr Browne, to the committee of privileges in February at the time Senator Brandis is talking about was that he should be recused from the committee of privileges because, on any matter of judgment which took notice of High Court rulings in the past, Senator Brandis had no place on the committee.