David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to examine the extraordinary double standards applied by the Liberal opposition on the matter of ethical behaviour by public servants. Recently, we saw the spectacle of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Turnbull, and his sidekick in this place, Senator Abetz, admitting that their false and outrageous accusations of corruption and dishonesty against both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer were based on a forged email provided to them by a public servant—of course, I speak of Mr Godwin Grech. Mr Turnbull has been asked several times by journalists about the nature of his long-term relationship with Mr Grech. He has steadfastly refused to answer these questions. When Kerry O’Brien persisted with this line of questioning on ABC television recently, Mr Turnbull simply clammed up and refused to say anything, but the questions will not go away. Why did Mr Turnbull and Senator Abetz so readily accept the allegations made by Mr Grech against the Prime Minister and the Treasurer? Why did they do nothing to verify the faked email which Mr Grech waved in front of them but never actually gave them?