Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

We'll be supporting the motion by Senator Patrick for an inquiry into the conduct of former ministers Pyne and Bishop, but it's tantamount to a protection racket to look at just those two isolated cases and not at the litany of examples from both sides of the chamber where the ministerial standards have been stretched at best, whether those folk be in the ministry or former ministers. Now, the amendment that I sought to move was to include scrutiny of ministers Taylor and Frydenberg and their conduct. I understand we'll be getting an explanation from Minister Cormann on those matters tomorrow, and we look forward to those and hope it's more fulsome than the one we received today, but the other parts of the amendment were actually to expand this inquiry to look at how we fix this code: how to give it teeth, how to make sure it's enforced and how to make sure it's not just at the whim of the Prime Minister to turn a blind eye by actually having an independent body. What a disappointment that none of you actually want to look at the source of the problem. You just want to play politics with it.