Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon in response to the answers that were given in question time and in response to Senator Brandis and, no doubt, speakers that will follow him. I take offence at some of the comparisons that Senator Brandis used then in relation to one of my colleagues—in fact, in relation to any senator in this chamber. It is an unfortunate position you find yourself in when you cannot actually take note and debate the facts and you have to resort to some personal intimations. I think people listening to this do not appreciate that.

There are just two things I want to say before I talk about foreign affairs. One is that, of course, Senator Bob Carr has not been Premier of New South Wales for nearly seven years now, so people out there will probably be thinking, 'What is this all about now that he is not only a member of the federal parliament but also Australia's foreign minister?' So let us get that on the record.

Secondly, I just want to say something in relation to what happened today, when we spent 15 minutes on this first question in the Senate—which, of course, was not related at all to any policy matter or any significant area of reform that this government is trying to undertake. One thing I know is that, when we all come into this chamber as senators, we are asked to complete accurately—always accurately and truthfully—our declaration of senators' interests. One of the things we know, which is now fact, is that one senator in this place, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, did not complete his register of senators' interests correctly—surprisingly, you may say, because he was former Prime Minister John Howard's chief of staff. Why would he not have done that? Surely it was not because he did not know to do it; he clearly did.