John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I believe that what Senator Brandis did in relation to that matter was a mistake. So did many other people. I thought personally that a shadow Attorney-General should know better. But I did not come into the Senate chamber, puff myself up with all the righteous indignation in the world and excoriate Senator Brandis—far from it. I did not open the door of my glass house and proceed to hurl stones at my opponents. I just say to Senator Brandis: you have to be careful about these things, because I think you have to be careful not to diminish yourself. I have said before that Senator Brandis likes Nicola Roxon. Well, I like Senator Brandis, and I also acknowledge and have acknowledged in the past that he is an able parliamentarian. But, just like attorneys-general, shadow attorneys-general need to adopt high standards.

As you know, Madam Acting Deputy President, there is also an ongoing court proceeding, and not only the one between Mr Ashby and Mr Slipper. The Australian Federal Police announced on 19 July—and I read from its press release—that it had received and accepted a referral to investigate allegations of fraud against Mr Slipper and that it had forwarded certain material to the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consultation and possible further action. So there is more than one issue and more than one matter about which judgements will be made in the future, and that is as it should be.

Let me make one final point in the short amount of time I have available to me. Many years ago in this chamber I was one who used all the mechanisms that the Senate had available to me to hold a Senate Presiding Officer—the then Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Colston—to account. At no stage did I seek or receive the views of my colleagues in the House of Representatives about the Senator Colston matter. Mr Slipper is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. When I came down to the chamber to hear Senator Brandis's contribution on this debate, there was a debate taking place in the House of Representatives about whether Mr Slipper should remain as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. But Mr Slipper is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and his future is a matter for the House of Representatives. It is not a matter for the Senate.