Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, as one Victorian senator to another, may I offer my congratulations to you. I too have a question for Senator Cash, but in her ill-held portfolio of employment. On 25 October the minister told the Senate Education and Employment Committee at least five times that her office was not responsible for leaking the raids on the Australian Workers Union offices by the Registered Organisations Commission to the media. Given the minister's staff had the opportunity to correct her alleged ignorance of the facts during the morning tea break, the lunch break, the afternoon tea break, at her meeting with the Prime Minister or at any other stage through the day, does the minister really expect the Senate to believe she first became aware that her office tipped off the media during the dinner break?