Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that helpful reminder. Mr Acting Deputy President, let's look at Senator Fifield's role in this. What happened? That very fine man who used to occupy that seat that you're now sitting in, Mr Acting Deputy President, came to Senator Fifield with some concerns about his own citizenship. What did Senator Fifield do about it? He is a minister of the Crown. He was made aware there were some issues regarding Senator Parry's citizenship—Senator Parry having referred off a whole range of people. What did Senator Fifield do about it? Did he tell his leader? Did he tell the Prime Minister, 'I think we've got a problem with the President of the Senate'? No, he didn't do that. Did he tell any other ministers? Perhaps he told the Attorney-General, who had been handling all this? Apparently he didn't do that. (Time expired)