Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Outside of the committee there was a clear partisan view by the minister. His public statements and his press releases say all of this. I am saying that that contagion came inside the committee. From doing clear thinking and an evaluation of the circumstances relating to the situation at Nauru, the committee became partisan. My simple contention is that the coalition senator who was partisan in that was Senator Reynolds. Whether that was the task given to her, I do not know, but she was clearly partisan. Senator Bernardi is renowned in this chamber as being a chair of an extremely high standard. As a chair of a committee, he sets really high standards. Senator Johnston's contribution was analytical, deliberate. He cross-examined with purpose and prosecuted his position, as he always does, very well.

That was not true of the contributions from Senator Reynolds. That is why my statement came to bear. My statement came to bear because, clearly, the agenda that she was running was not the agenda that was set by the Senate. As I say, I have had enough experience to know when people doing things—and they can do it; there is no issue with that—that frustrate the normal working of a committee. In normal meetings you have an opening and you have apologies and you have the acceptance of minutes. If someone moves that the minutes not be accepted, you ask why. Clearly, they have an issue with the minutes—but all of the minutes; every set of minutes? My instruction to the secretariat who drafted the minutes was, 'Please take them to Senator Reynolds and have them fixed, and whenever she is happy, I will sign them.' I had no problem with the minutes.