Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Attorney-General, Senator Watt. Minister, which ministers were involved in any way, including seeing briefs for noting, in the approval of the settlement proposal in the Ms Higgins matter?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Scarr, when you asked questions about this the other day, I made the point that I am surprised that nearly two weeks after this whole alleged scandal started the opposition, including you, continue to ask questions that are predicated on court documents that were leaked to the media and were only available to a very small number of people. I saw the reporting on these court documents in the Australian when it was first reported, and I remember it saying that the documents were held by a very small number of people. A couple of names were given, and I am not going repeat those names here. But a couple of names were given in that article as to people who had access to that documentation. It also said that the government, as in the Albanese government, had access to the documentation. I fail to see how it was in the interest of the Albanese government to leak to the media private court documents that are now being pursued by the opposition.

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Scarr, on a point of order?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Relevance, Madam President. There was nothing in the question dealing with court documents. It is about the settlement. There is no reference to any court document. The settlement is in the public domain.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister is being relevant to the first part of your question, and I am happy to draw him to the second part of your question.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Scarr 's defence is that court documents are in the public domain. I wonder how that happened. The settlement was in the public domain. I have also seen all sorts of speculation by members of the opposition as to the quantum of that settlement, which has never been revealed. Do you know why? It is confidential because settlements between parties in a mediation, as you well know, Senator Scarr, are confidential. And, despite your legal experience and the legal experience of the shadow Attorney-General, you continue to come into this chamber and ask questions about a settlement that is confidential between parties. You should know that, and you should know better than that.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. I am not going to constantly, moment after moment, call for order in this chamber. If I call for order, I want senators to come to order, not continue to call out across the chamber. It is incredibly disorderly. Senator O'Sullivan.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order, President: if you could just ask the minister to refer through you, Chair.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind all senators, and I will remind the minister, to direct his answers to the chair, and that goes for all senators in this place.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said the other day when I answered questions from Scarr about this point, and as we have said consistently—as Senator Gallagher has said consistently and others have as well—the claim that we are talking about from an alleged rape victim that is the subject of these questions was managed consistently with the Commonwealth's obligation under the Legal Services Direction 2017. I am shocked that the opposition continue to ask questions about this matter, but I guess we cannot expect any better.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Scarr, first supplementary?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note my questions have no reference to court documents or to settlement sum. Did the Attorney-General or his office have any verbal or written communications with the Prime Minister in relation to the settlement in the Ms Higgins matter prior to the matter being settled? If so, when?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I've said, Ms Higgins's claim was managed consistently with the Commonwealth's obligations under the legal services direction. The terms of settlement and the claim were managed in accordance with legal principle and practice and informed by external legal advice. The parties agreed that the terms of the settlement and that settlement process, including mediation, are confidential, and it would appear the only people who can't respect that principle are members of the opposition who continue to ask about this. As I said, I cannot believe that nearly two weeks into this we continue to have questions from the opposition.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's all about you!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it's not all about me. It's all about an alleged survivor of rape. That's who it's actually about. That's who it's about. And you people don't have the decency to respect that. You come in and use question time day after day to trawl over these documents that were leaked to the media by someone who had access to the documents and text messages—leaked by someone who had access to the text messages.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Once again I have to call the chamber to order. Minister, you have three more seconds.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This has been a test of the decency of the opposition. They have failed. We have completely upheld the principle— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Scarr, your second supplementary question?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that we haven't received any meaningful answers to these process questions. Did the Attorney-General or his office have any verbal or written communications with any other minister in relation to the settlement in the Ms Higgins matter prior to it being settled? If so, who and when?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately, the strategy of the opposition over the last two weeks to trawl over leaked court documents and leaked text messages involving an alleged survivor of rape—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Scarr?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on relevance. This was a very direct question with respect to who knew what, when.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've also mentioned the word 'settlement' and I can't put words in the minister's mouth. He can address the question in whatever way he chooses as long as he is relevant. I will continue to listen carefully.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I say, the strategy of the opposition over the last couple of weeks has failed so spectacularly that they are now having to try to retrofit this strategy by clutching at straws and looking at—

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hundreds of questions—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

things that don't actually exist to justify the indecent questions that they have spent the best part of two weeks asking.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The indecent way you weaponise this issue!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Henderson, I just called you to order. I've now had to sit the minister down and call you to order again. I would ask you to listen in silence.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have no doubt that people will look back on the last two weeks to judge the relative character of the government and the opposition and the way they have dealt with these matters. There are any number of questions that the government could have asked of the opposition over the last couple of weeks, given the way things have turned out. How many of them have we asked? Not one. That's because some of us in this chamber have some decency; some of us in this chamber have some character, but, unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's a lot of it over there. (Time expired)