Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Canavan explained why he resigned as a minister in his statement on 25 July. As I said yesterday in the House, his view is that he should continue to comply with or honour the commitments that he made to the Senate at that time and following. Now, the fact of the matter is this. On our side of the House we have been very up-front about these issues. The Deputy Prime Minister came into the House and disclosed the facts. Senator Canavan disclosed the facts.

On the other hand, the Labor Party, under the leadership of the member for Maribyrnong, takes a 'don't ask, don't tell' approach to citizenship issues. They're not prepared to ask the Deputy Prime Minister a question in this parliament. They'd rather get a member of the New Zealand Labour Party to ask a question in the New Zealand parliament. They'd rather conspire with a political party in a foreign country to try to get admissions, concessions or statements that can be used to undermine the government of this country—a country whose parliament they are in. You would think that the Labor Party of Australia would owe its first loyalty to Australia and that the Labor Party of Australia would be asking questions in the Parliament of Australia, not in the parliament of New Zealand. The reason they did not ask a perfectly straightforward question of the Deputy Prime Minister is that they don't want to tell the story of their own members—so many of them here! Where are the papers? Where is the evidence?

Ms Catherine King interjecting—

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