Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Brandis. I refer to the scripts of taxpayer funded budget advertisements leaked to Paul Murray at Sky News. Can the minister confirm that television and radio advertisements have already been recorded? When did the minister first see or hear the advertisements?

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

I am aware of the reports, but I cannot confirm them. I can tell you that the government has made no decision on any advertising campaign around the budget and that I have seen no such advertisements.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Have the taxpayer funded budget advertisements been approved by the Independent Communications Committee and what would they cost?

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

I do not think I can add to my previous answer.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the Abbott-Turnbull government observe the caretaker conventions and not run taxpayer funded budget advertisements during the election campaign?

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

I can absolutely confirm that the government will observe the caretaker conventions. We will observe the caretaker conventions to the letter—unlike the previous Labor government, whose Attorney-General and special minister of state, as well as violating the caretaker conventions, described the caretaker conventions as 'merely a matter of political practice', while the previous Labor government shamelessly and conceitedly violated those conventions. So, Senator, please do not come into this chamber and suggest that this government does not take the caretaker conventions seriously—we do—when the last Labor special minister of state, who had custodianship and responsibility for these conventions, openly and flagrantly violated them and made no excuse for doing so.