Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I'm glad you actually allowed Senator Waters to run over time, because I didn't hear everything she said but I did catch the words 'spanish inquisition'. Senator Waters, that is exactly what we are not going to pursue: a spanish inquisition. That's because, at the end of the day, this needs to be a body which ensures that integrity is pursued in a manner which respects both due process and democracy.

Senator Waters seems to forget, and the Labor Party seems to forget as well, that the Commonwealth Integrity Commission is to investigate corruption—serious corruption. It is not a tool that is to be used for vexatious and politically motivated claims. They want a spanish inquisition, and that's not something which we're going to support.