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

Senator O'Neill, if you care to wait, your error can be pointed out to you. But you obviously won't do that. Much has been made of words quoted by Michelle Grattan in an article on The Conversation website. Senator Wong, then Senator Farrell and now Senator O'Neill—none of whom, by the way, have delayed in the Senate chamber to hear the truth—have asserted that a reference in direct speech in Michelle Grattan's article is somehow proof that Senator Parry has said to Michelle Grattan that he had spoken to various ministers. I've just spoken to former Senator Parry in the last 10 minutes. Senator Parry tells me, and he has authorised me to tell the chamber, that he has never spoken to Michelle Grattan about this matter, ever. And he has also authorised me to tell the chamber that he has never used the words that are said to be attributed to him by the Labor Party in the article by Michelle Grattan—to any person, ever. So that is the truth. The truth is that the entire case made against our former colleague Stephen Parry is based on a falsehood.

I tried to make this point to Senator Wong across the table during question time, but, of course, she rudely refused to listen to me. I tried to point out that on a reasonable reading of this article in The Conversation the words in direct speech are not said by Michelle Grattan to be the words of Stephen Parry. Nevertheless, the Australian Labor Party has mounted its entire case on the assertion that they are. But we now know that they are not, because Senator Parry never spoke to Michelle Grattan and never used those words to anyone.