Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. Given Senator Santoro described himself as ‘share trading’ on his Senate register of interests in December last year, did the Prime Minister’s office ask Senator Santoro if he had engaged in any share trading that he had failed to disclose, before discussing with him changing the description in the register to ‘share investment’?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My advice from the relevant person in my office is that the pecuniary interest return to me and also what was on the Senate register did not, on the face of it, indicate that there had been any share trading and therefore it was an incorrect categorisation. That was pointed out. It is also my understanding that in the course of the discussion an inquiry was made as to whether the material disclosed accurately depicted the situation, and an affirmative answer was given to that.