Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Hinch is a participating member, as is every other senator. He is not a full member of the committee. I repeat that this and several other committees are committees that have been set up by the Labor Party and the Greens. Instead of spending moneys of the Labor Party and the Greens to do these political exercises they use the money of the Senate.

Every one of these dodgy so-called inquiries that have been brought relating to the Attorney-General have achieved absolutely nothing. I heard someone mentioned inquiry into the Solicitor-General. We all know the result of that. Senator Brandis came out unscathed and unblemished, with not a chink taken out of anything he had said in that whole debate. But the Solicitor-General, I have to say, did the right thing and resided during the course of the hearing, because the Solicitor-General knew that his conduct as an officer of the government—dealing with secret information to a member of the opposition—was untenable. I did not know the Solicitor-General—I do not think I ever had anything to do with him—but I thought his conduct was particularly improper and that he did the right thing by resigning. I only raise that to say that the Labor Party and the Greens keep running these political inquiries because they want to attack the person who is most valuable to the government and is the one who causes most grief to the Labor Party and the Greens.

I do not want to embarrass Senator Brandis, who is in the chamber now, but I repeat, I have known Senator Brandis for a long time. He is not a particular friend of mine, but I have the greatest admiration for his ability—

Honourable senators interjecting—