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

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement of no more than five minutes.

Leave granted.

Mr President, as you know, the purpose of dealing with matters formally is so that they are not debated in the chamber, and the practice of making short statements is to explain the government's or the opposition's position. I am not going to descend into the debate other than to say that the attack on a very illustrious Australian jurist we have just heard from the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate is utterly contemptible.

Senator Conroy interjecting—