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

No, Senator, not in the circumstances you posit. As you say, you did raise this with me privately. I have reflected on the question: definitely not. Sometimes the law will attribute conduct to a person because of other aspects of their conduct, sometimes even their silence. That would be called, in these circumstances, constructive disclosure rather than actual or deliberate disclosure. But merely to remain silent would certainly not, in my view—and I have spoken with others as well—constitute constructive disclosure.