Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has just confirmed that he was aware in August that Senator Day's election possibly contravened the Constitution. How can it be that since then, for every single day that the 45th Parliament has sat, the Prime Minister has been aware that the composition of the Senate was potentially illegitimate? Why did the Prime Minister decide to keep this information secret from the Australian people?

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

We have yet another example of the sanctimonious humbug that we get time and time again from the Leader of the Opposition. What you have seen today as presented by the Special Minister of State and the finance minister in the Senate is an example of a government diligently investigating facts which came to its attention, seeking advice and then, when that advice was received, handing it on to the President of the Senate. The honourable member opposite may reflect on this: on Saturday 29 October he stood before the Labor state conference in Queensland and he denounced the government and he denounced me for relying on the vote of Senator Day. He denounced us for that. Yet, the day before, the Special Minister of State had handed to the President of the Senate a set of papers including legal advice from senior counsel which stated that there were good grounds for concluding that Senator Day's position in the Senate was ineligible.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga is warned.

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

In other words, he was ineligible to stand at the election. That shows what humbug we get from the Leader of the Opposition. The fact is, as Senator Ryan and Senator Cormann have set out, that as the facts emerged concerning Senator Day's office, they then investigated, taking great care to do so diligently, seeking legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor, seeking legal advice from senior counsel and then, when that advice was received, they provided it to the President of the Senate. The government has acted with the utmost integrity and with diligence, and that is set out. The honourable member opposite is filled with sanctimony, filled with humbug and filled with all of his claims of overreach, but what we have seen here is a government dealing with this matter diligently and with integrity. Yet what he has done is personally handpick for the Senate Kimberley Kitching, who was referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration to be charged with serious offences, who was found to be have been untruthful in her evidence to the Fair Work Commission. What steps has he taken to satisfy himself that Commissioner Heydon's conclusions were wrong or that Deputy President Watson's conclusions were wrong? If he has not done that, if he cannot stand up here and say Kimberley Kitching is blameless and without any offence, then he has put her into the Senate— (Time expired)