Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for this opportunity to travel down memory lane, so to speak. I think you mentioned the report was in 2015? Is that right? I can't actually recall the Senate committee report myself. I can't necessarily, therefore, confirm or otherwise the specific quote that has been made from it. I can't recall, myself, whether I was the author of those words, or simply a signatory to them or otherwise. It's a bit hard to comment on something that of course is well outside the portfolio of the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia.

But what I would say, just briefly, on this particular topic is that I think the quote goes to a pretty central point about governance and policymaking. It's not a matter of trust, Senator Gallacher; it is about making sure, of course, that objectives are met—different objectives and different responsibilities—in independent ways across policymaking. But, as I said, I would have to check the record before I could confirm or otherwise the status of a Senate committee report from, I think, around four years ago.