Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

P ractice is very clear on this. It says that one of the circumstances in which the sub judice convention should be applied is, 'Where the proceedings are concerned with issues of fact or findings relating to the propriety of the actions of specific persons'. That is precisely what the terms of reference of the royal commission go to. The letters patent authorise the commissioner to inquire into the following matters: the establishment, design and implementation of the robodebt scheme, including who was responsible for its design, development and establishment. So the royal commission has been charged with finding facts. It is particularly surprising that the Attorney-General should be trampling all over the distinction that should properly be drawn. It leads to the obvious conclusion that this exercise is nothing but a politicised witch-hunt. The interest in finding the truth is a—

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