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

Senator Rice, as you know, we did have a vote in the parliament last November, which had it been resolved in favour of the legislation the government brought forward for a plebiscite would have meant this issue would be behind us, over and done with. That is a very clever stunt, Senator Rice. You must have been speaking to Senator Xenophon, who is a past master of these stunts. In any event, I do not understand Mr Dutton to be questioning the personal right of Mr Joyce or any other business leader to express a personal point of view. What I understand him to be saying is that, as corporate leaders, their primary focus ought to be on the affairs of their companies, as indeed it ought to be. But there was not a word, not a syllable, that came from Mr Dutton that called into question the right of Mr Joyce and any other corporate leader to express a point of view in favour of same-sex marriage. If only you had not blocked the plebiscite legislation, every Australian would have had that right.