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

The censure motion comprises five paragraphs, the last two of which are essentially rhetorical and I will not detain the Senate by addressing them. Let me address the three substantive paragraphs of the motion in reverse order.

Paragraph 3 accuses me of refusing to fully account for my conduct when appearing before a committee of the Senate. That is, presumably, an intended reference to the Senate estimates committee hearing last Tuesday. That assertion is entirely incorrect. The Human Rights Commission began its evidence before the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Estimates Committee at 9 am last Tuesday. I was not asked a question until 21 minutes to four.

Senator Wong interjecting—

For five hours and 24 minutes the committee sat and not one Labor senator addressed a single question to me.

I can tell you, Mr Acting Deputy President Smith, that I was very eager to address the issues, but not one question was directed to me. Then, eventually, at 21 minutes to four—I recorded the time so that it would be in the Hansarda question came to me from Senator Wong:

Mr Attorney, can you explain why, if you had lost confidence in Professor Triggs, you asked the Secretary to canvass another role with her?

And I responded to that question at some length over four pages of the Hansard.