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

I'm not going to rehearse what was said in the chamber this morning, but I do want to explain why it is that the government is moving this motion, why it is important that Senator Dastyari attend the chamber and why it is that the government regards this as a very serious matter indeed. As several senators have pointed out in this debate—indeed, senators from all interests represented in the chamber other than the Australian Labor Party have pointed it out—every senator is accountable to this chamber for their conduct. There can be no dispute about that proposition. We have had the Australian Labor Party move against government senators and ministers, as they're perfectly entitled to do, to require them in various ways to account to the Senate. At the moment, my colleague Senator Fifield is the subject of a requirement that he attend the Privileges Committee in relation to certain allegations.