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

Senator Hinch, there was no information before the Senate in relation to Senator Parry. Senator Parry took a certain course since the Senate last sat. In the event that Senator Parry had not taken that course and that information had come to light, it would have been a matter for the Senate to have considered in the light of that information that was not known to the Senate then but is known to the Senate now, but it has been overtaken by the event of Senator Parry's purported resignation.

There is no information before the Senate at the moment in relation to any other individual to which Senator Bernardi's observations apply. But, if a senator were to form that view, as I said a moment ago, it would be incumbent upon them to take a certain course, and, if they declined to take that course, then it would be open to the Senate to move under section 47 of the Constitution and section 376 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act on the basis of information before it.