Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to ask some questions of the Attorney.

Leave granted.

Firstly, Attorney, are you aware that the ATO sought legal advice on their position should you issue a direction that they not intervene in the Bell matter in the High Court? When did you become aware of this? What, if anything, did you or any of your staff do after you became aware of that? Secondly, do you agree that the precedent of this Senate is that the fact that legal advice might be considered privileged by government or by a minister does not automatically mean that it satisfies the public interest immunity requirements that have been established in the past by this chamber? Thirdly, are you seriously walking away from Odgers' in here today? Do you regard it as a fire starter to get your kindling going, or do you accord it anything higher than simply being one opinion on how this Senate works? If you do, what other body of work do you rely on to give advice to the senators in this place and to the chamber as a whole about how the Senate operates?