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

Yes I am, Senator Edwards. I have just referred to them in my answer to your primary question. That is the attitude of creating an office, investing it with wide powers of inquiry—which on reflection duplicated pre-existing other offices and committees such as the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Australian Law Reform Commission and other appropriate bodies—tasking an eminent barrister to take up this task to review national security laws and then entirely disregarding his reports for the lifetime of the entire government. Because that is the respect that the former Attorney-General, now shadow Attorney-General Mr Dreyfus, took to the national security monitor's role. Before the office is wound up, we will respond to the work that he did.