Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to respond to a number of the claims that have been made by both Senator Conroy, in his disgraceful address, and of course Senator Cameron. As we look at this public address, I am reminded of Bill Shorten saying, when claiming travel for the Light on the Hill fundraiser, that of course it is not a fundraiser. His argument was that the Light on the Hill, being a public lecture at about $85 a head, apparently to cover costs, is not a fundraiser. But in this case a public lecture, according to the Labor Party, is in fact a fundraiser and somehow fundamentally different. Not credible!

But let us go a little bit further. Senator Conroy used abusive language towards Justice Heydon, calling him a stooge because he delivered this public lecture. Did anyone call Michael Kirby a Labor stooge because he addressed a public lecture for the Society of Labor Lawyers? Is Senator Conroy calling former Justice Kirby a Labor Party stooge? We never heard that language, but that is the absolute correlation if you are going to go into the game and say, 'If you go and deliver a public lecture, you are a stooge of the party.'

Senator Carol Brown interjecting—