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

Senator McAllister, for the reasons I explained in answer to your colleague Senator Cameron's question, I'm not going to go into any factual matters in relation to the case, other than to say that on the basis of Solicitor-General advice, the government is confident of the Deputy Prime Minister's position. That being said, I first became aware of the matter late on Thursday afternoon, and I think that was shortly after the government became aware.