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

Thank you. To sum up, Senator Cameron has done two things. He has quoted from words in a search warrant that he did not initially identify as a search warrant though ultimately he did. He has quoted from some words which, I believe, Mr Brough used in a television interview. On the basis of those two sources, and those two sources alone I might say, he has asserted that Mr Brough is guilty of wrongdoing. The points that I simply make to the chamber are: firstly, the fact that a person has a search warrant executed on their premises is no indication whatsoever, none whatsoever, that they are guilty of wrongdoing and, secondly, to quote the words that were attributed to Mr Brough in a press interview is not an admission either. It is not an admission. It does not produce the conclusion, which Senator Cameron, who of course is not a legally trained member of this chamber, asserts that it supports. The innuendo and the claims against Mr Brough are disgraceful.