Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume her seat. I am not sure if the members on my left thought they were effective in the way that they treated the minister while he was answering, but to then continue it while the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is preparing for her question amazes me.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation and Minister representing the Special Minister of State. I refer the minister to his statement in the House on Tuesday that a fake email was:

… according to the Australian Federal Police, created on a Treasury computer and emailed from Treasury to the computer at the home of Mr Grech. Although it was subsequently deleted from the Treasury computer …

I remind the minister that the only public statement by the Australian Federal Police on the preliminary results of its investigation makes no mention of any of these allegations. Will the minister advise the House of the source of these allegations he made during the course of this police investigation?

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am genuinely puzzled by the member for Curtin’s question, because I have here a media statement by the Australian Federal Police which tends to suggest that she has not been keeping up with events. So I would suggest that it is long overdue for the opposition to get onto the real issues that concern people in this nation; to give up on what has become a desperately embarrassing effort that now has absolutely not the slightest thread of credibility. So, I am afraid that there is no basis for the—

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order concerning relevance. The fact is that not one of the allegations said by the minister would—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume her seat; she cannot debate the issue. The minister is responding to the question.

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In conclusion, I would point out to the member for Curtin that, if she scrutinises Hansard for Monday, 22 June—in particular, statements from the member for North Sydney—she might find that in fact her question could be better addressed to him.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek to table the public press release from the Australian Federal Police that makes no mention of the Treasury computer, of Mr Grech or of the deletion of the email.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted?

Leave not granted.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask the minister for finance to table the statement from the AFP that he was referring to.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Was the minister reading from a document? The minister has indicated that he did not read from a document.