Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Conroy, for the question. The issue to do with complaints about journalists is to be dealt with and can be dealt with through the appropriate regulatory authorities, but the issue to do with the journalists mentioned by Senator Conroy is: what complaint is it that one needs to make about what has happened? It is quite extraordinary that, apparently, the journalists in question—and I know only what I have read about it—appear to have had an off-the-record conversation with the Treasurer or, alternatively, a conversation that they agreed to treat as off the record, and somehow or other the conversation that happened over two years ago was not thought to be worthy of reporting. If it was on the record, it was not thought worthy of reporting two years ago; if it was off the record, all of the principles of journalism would suggest that it should not be used at any time at all.