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

I think the risks, Senator Bushby, lie in those who engage in the very kind of conduct in this legislation. In particular, I'm speaking now of the foreign interference legislation and the new crime of unlawful foreign interference—the people who engage in that sort of conduct and those who protect them. We have the example of Senator Dastyari, who was given every opportunity last Thursday by this chamber to explain or deny the very serious allegations that had been made against him by credible journalists in the Fairfax press and the ABC and, in the course of a 20-minute speech, neither explained nor denied anything and, therefore, by his failure to deny the allegations, must be taken to have admitted them. The question arises: why does Mr Shorten continue to protect Senator Sam Dastyari?