Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I repeat: the government at all stages followed legal advice in considering all of the issues that were relevant. During the period between the government's initial decision to put the Australia Network to an open tender and the finalisation of the independent panel's deliberations, we saw a significant number of international changes take place, including significant political transformation across the Middle East and North Africa. A number of consular crises also underlined the importance of ensuring that strengthened information services would be available from a range of sources. Consistent with its view that the Australia Network was a matter of national importance, the government—