House debates Questions without Notice
Ministerial Staff
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
2:25 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister stand by statements from his office that clause 2.23 of the Statement of Ministerial Standards was not breached with respect to the appointment made last year to the ministerial office of Senator Canavan, the reappointment to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and, finally, the appointment to the office of the National Party Whip?
Mr Sukkar interjecting—
Tony Smith Speaker
The member for Deakin will cease interjecting—
Mr Brian Mitchell interjecting—
as will the member for McEwen. The Prime Minister has the call.
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
The honourable member refers to some statements attributed to a spokesman of mine yesterday. Those statements, I'm advised, followed a background discussion. They were not authorised by me, but I will answer the question. As the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed in his statement of Saturday, 10 February, and again in his statement this morning, The Nationals are responsible for decisions relating to staffing the office of Nationals members. He confirmed that the Prime Minister's office has an administrative role in informing the Department of Finance of changes. All ministers are bound by the ministerial standards.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Tony Smith Speaker
The Prime Minister will pause for a second and resume his seat. I'm going to make it very clear: members expect me to listen to the question, to adjudicate on it and to listen to the answer, which often is then the subject of further questions. My level of tolerance for interjections is now very low. Everyone has fair warning. The Prime Minister has the call.
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
All ministers are bound by the ministerial standards. The Deputy Prime Minister has today explained his circumstances as it relates to the standards, and I refer you to that statement. I would add that whether somebody is a partner of another for the purposes of clause 2.23 is, of course, a question of fact. The facts of the relationship which you're referring to are, of course, known to the Deputy Prime Minister. It is his responsibility to address it and comply with the standards, and he addressed that in his statement today.