Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate. How does the minister reconcile his declaration on ministerial letterhead that he had received benefits from Mr Eddie Obeid in a 'personal capacity' with his statement today that he has 'never had so much as a cup of coffee' with Mr Obeid?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Has anyone ever heard of Australian Water Holdings? Put your hand up. As I have repeatedly said, I am such a close friend of Mr Eddie Obeid that he could not even remember my name yesterday. He actually could not remember my name.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am so close to Mr Obeid that he actually got my name wrong. He named somebody else. He might know another senator's name but let us be very clear—

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Wait a minute, Senator Brandis. You will get the call; you are entitled to be heard in silence, that is why I am not giving you the call yet.

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

Mr President, on a point of order, I know that Senator Conroy seeks to make light of this matter but it is a serious question. It goes to the integrity of his declarations and his public statements. I ask you on this particular occasion, given its sensitivity, to be very strict in your enforcement of the direct relevance requirement.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on the point of order: Senator Conroy is being quite serious in his response. He has been asked to explain the consistency between two matters and he is addressing precisely that point.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. Senator Conroy, you have one minute and 17 seconds to continue.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I am so implicated! It did not take long after those opposite announced, 'We're going to be positive. We're going to go on policies'—it was less than a week—for them to start the smear jobs again.

Bill Heffernan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to see if your brain—

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Your brain has never been turned on, Senator Heffernan, so you might have to wait a bit.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Obviously, you failed to hear the interjection. I apologise, Mr President.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You withdraw.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I apologise, Mr President. Those opposite have spent less than a week on their positive campaign and they want to do any smear. It does not matter how tenuous; it does not matter how thin; it does not matter how outrageous or unseemly. They are prepared to get down in the gutter at every stage.

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

Mr President, I have a point of order on direct relevance. Since you overruled the last point of order, the minister has done nothing but attack the opposition. Nothing but attack the opposition. Nothing he said is directly or indirectly relevant to the question. He was merely asked, not in a belligerent way, to reconcile two apparently inconsistent statements. He has not addressed that issue, I would submit with respect, at all. But he certainly has not addressed it since you overruled the last point of order.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I draw the minister's attention to the question.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, they are down in the gutter immediately. I reject the premise of the question.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. The only premises to the question were the words spoken and written by the minister. However, let us try this: when did the minister first become aware that the Perisher apartment in which he stayed for free was owned by Mr Obeid?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the opposition were paying attention to the interview I gave this morning on the radio on this matter, they would know I put on the public record that I learned over the course of the weekend that that was the case.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Was it this weekend or—

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, no. The weekend at the time, as I said on radio. As I said, Mr Burke invited me to join him and I discovered, over the weekend I think it was, that that was the case.

Opposition senators interjecting—

It was eight years ago.

Opposition senators interjecting—

But I was quite happy—don't you start. Julie Bishop took from Mr Kerry Stokes a week in China during the Olympics, entirely—do not start on freebies. I have your full list if you want to start on freebies.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister provide an explanation, other than his haste and sloppiness, as to why his undated disclosure of benefits received from Mr Obeid was addressed and sent to the House of Representatives Registrar of Members' Interests rather than the Registrar of Senators' Interests? Will he now make a full and proper disclosure to the Senate?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is right. The paperwork has been corrected and the correct office has been notified.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning, I think, when people in my office were—

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Before question time.

Opposition senators interjecting—

I have signed the form. I was in Bungendore launching NBN Co.'s new wireless and satellite service. I attended to it as soon as I got an opportunity to.