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

Yes, he did. I listened to Mr Abbott's speech and I listened to the subsequent questions from both Mr Abbott and Ms Bishop, and I can assure you, Senator Evans, that those specific allegations were put to the Prime Minister and were not dealt with by her. So, Mr Deputy President, the narrow point is this: it cannot possibly be unparliamentary to say that a member of the lower house faces accusations of misconduct, including a breach of the criminal law, when in fact they do face those allegations. That is an objective truth. Ms Gillard does face those accusations. Whether or not she is guilty is a matter for a court of law.

The broad point is this: it cannot possibly be the case that the parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia is denied the capacity to debate whether the most senior minister of the Commonwealth has committed a wrongdoing or breached the criminal law.