George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

My question is directed to Senator Ludwig, the Minister representing the Attorney-General. I refer the honourable senator to the answer he has just given. Can he confirm that Mr McClelland, in his press conference this morning announcing the inquiry, has said that the inquiry would not examine the flow of intelligence from overseas security agencies? If, as the minister has just told the Senate, Australians are entitled to know ‘what really happened’ and if the purpose of the inquiry is, as the minister has just said, to enable all of the information to be properly assessed, why has the government specifically withheld from the inquiry a potentially important evidentiary source?