Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, Minister Taylor has made clear that he will give cooperation to any investigation. Secondly, I would note that the New South Wales police commissioner, in comments he has made to the media today, has made clear that in responding to the letter from the shadow Attorney-General—which Senator Cormann rightly characterised as being very much a politically driven effort by the Labor opposition—the first threshold that the New South Wales police will undertake is considering the complex legal questions as to whether there is even a matter of law to be assessed there. So the nature of the question, which jumps to assertions of whether or not interviews or the like will be required, may not ever come to fruition. The Labor Party, who asked for this investigation—you asked for this investigation—ought not seek to compromise the investigation by now politicising it. The New South Wales police commissioner has clearly outlined the steps that he will go through and that his officers will go through, and Minister Taylor has made clear that he will cooperate should that be required.