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

Senator Di Natale, it's a good question. Let me address it. I think the principle that I referred to last week is a good principle. It is a good principle. Senator Di Natale, your former colleagues, Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters, did the right thing. They may have resigned prematurely, but they certainly did the right thing in freely and without any pressure disclosing that they felt that they had a constitutional issue with section 44, just as Senator Canavan, Mr Joyce and Senator Roberts did the right thing by freely disclosing that they felt that they may have a constitutional problem under section 44.

Now, it's certainly the government's view, based on Solicitor-General advice, that Senator Canavan and Mr Joyce are likely to be found by the High Court not to be disqualified in these circumstances by section 44.