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

As I said, we thought, 'Perhaps the government will take umbrage at the question, with the assertion contained in it about Senator Carr's record as Premier of New South Wales.' Not only did they let it go by and pass without objection but Senator Carr himself let it pass without objection and merely said no, the shortest word he could think of, so that he could sit down at once—so fearful are the Australian Labor Party of opening up this issue.

The fact is that before the ICAC inquiry in Sydney today, and in recent days, the Australian public, and the New South Wales public in particular, have been astonished at revelation after revelation, which counsel assisting the inquiry has described as 'the greatest corruption scandal in New South Wales history since the days of the Rum Corps'. Do you know how much Mr Eddie Obeid and his family made out of a favourable re-zoning and a favourable ministerial decision by Mr Ian Macdonald—not our distinguished colleague Senator Ian Macdonald, but the corrupt Labor Party hack Mr Ian Macdonald? The ICAC hearing has heard that it was up to $100 million. And under whose period as the Premier of New South Wales, the leader of the Australian Labor Party and the senior politician of the New South Wales Right did Mr Eddie Obeid, Mr Ian Macdonald and Mr Joe Tripodi prosper? They prospered under the leadership of the now Senator Bob Carr.

It is all very well for Senator Bob Carr to flounce into the Senate and give us pious lectures about international relations. The real truth is that when Senator Bob Carr was the Premier of New South Wales he, at best, Horatio Nelson like, put the telescope up to his blind eye and said: 'Corruption, corruption? I don't see any corruption. Even though I'm the Premier, even though these are my ministers, even though this is happening on my watch, even though I have ministerial responsibility, I don't see any corruption.' Senator Bob Carr has a lot to answer for, as every single day's evidence in the ICAC hearing in Sydney reveals.