Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I will withdraw the words 'feigned ignorance', but I will continue to ask senators to make their own conclusions on the quality of the contribution, because Senator Sinodinos should be well versed in the private interest obligations that apply to all senators. It is well known that Senator Sinodinos was a longstanding chief of staff to former Prime Minister John Howard. In this role, Senator Sinodinos was responsible for disciplining coalition MPs and senators for failure to comply with private interest rules and other scandals that may have occurred. What is more, Senator Sinodinos ascended to the office of chief of staff after his predecessor, Grahame Morris, was forced to resign in disgrace after it emerged that he had covered up failures by Howard government ministers to meet their private interest obligations under the Standards of Ministerial Ethics. Senators might recall that so many ministers—