Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

That's precisely the point, because the Leader of the Opposition said, 'I didn't recognise the office.' So the Leader of the Opposition must be the only keen political observer in Australia who missed both the map of the federal division of Holt and missed the back of the election poster with the member's name on it in the relevant footage. And everyone in his office must have missed those. That does sound quite remarkable, don't you think, members?

The next question that was asked of the opposition leader was: if he hadn't satisfied himself that the recording was authorised or otherwise known to the member, given the member's very sensitive position on the intelligence committee and given that he had had his office bugged, would the opposition leader call in the Federal Police? And the opposition leader said, 'Well, they make their own decisions.' That has always been the government's view, but that is a remarkable turnaround in policy of the members opposite, because, of course, the Leader of the Opposition had at his disposal the greatest serial referrer to the AFP of these types of matters in the history of modern politics, the shadow Attorney-General, the member for Isaacs. This is the only one he doesn't seem to want to refer, which is quite strange. As to the prolific nature of his referring, the journalist Annika Smethurst, no less, wrote in her book:

… despite screaming for leniency when my house was raided. Shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus wrote to then-Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull encouraging him to call in the police.

A simple question and answer, as a leader of your party, with your backbencher could clear this up. (Time expired)

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