Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. I have put out a statement on this matter because a number of allegations were made that were completely without foundation. I would refer you to that statement, Senator. To be helpful to the Senate, what happened was that, as in the normal course of events, a draft report was made and put forward to be tabled. In it was a foreword from the then chair. I provided information to the ILC that there were some inaccuracies in that. The new chair of the ILC then decided not to redact any other part of that but in fact to add their own foreword, which ensured that those inaccuracies were dealt with.

This is an annual report of a very important organisation, and the chair was a very important individual. The former chair presented things as facts in such a way as to imply there had been a conspiracy or, in fact, a cover-up involving me in the original purchase of Ayers Rock Resort. Can I say that there are some contradictory elements in this. The chair herself, in an ABC opinion piece, said:

I'm not suggesting for one minute at all that there is corruption, because I have no evidence of that.

I am not actually sure where I was, Senator, in 2010. I was grovelling around in opposition and, in fact, the Labor Party were in power. It was under the Labor Party, under Minister Macklin, that the sale of Ayers Rock Resort occurred. As I say, I had— (Time expired)