Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

This strikes at the heart of the integrity of the Senate. There are kids in the gallery listening to this. Maybe many schools across the country will want to do a study of what is happening here today. It strikes at the integrity of the Senate, a house of review. The Australian public should be reassured that the Senate has integrity in regard to its committee hearings. They are a place where the average person’s views can be put and heard, not manipulated and not scripted. This is about integrity, and it should be taken extremely seriously.

The Leader of the Opposition tabled in a joint press release some new information. I took that information to the Clerk of the Senate and asked for some advice. I also took to the Clerk of the Senate the well-known issue that involved Senator Conroy—the Senator Conroy laptop affair. He was not just a senator; he was a witness at a hearing. He was caught red-handed scripting questions. I also took that to the Clerk of the Senate for advice. Senator Evans seems to be quite picky when he chooses whether to use the Clerk of the Senate’s advice.