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

No, I do not agree with that characterisation at all, as a matter of fact. I do not, because if you read Mr Nutt's statement, from which you have selectively quoted, you would see that Mr Nutt has made an inquiry of the venue provider and has established that the cost per ticket was $80 and the cost of providing the dinner was between $74 and $75 per seat. Therefore, Senator Conroy, you may think that to budget with a small surplus of $3, $4 or $5 constitutes a fundraiser; I do not. In fact, I would have thought that, if you were organising an event not designed to run at a profit but not designed to run at a loss either, you would build in a very small margin of a couple of dollars.