Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, not that it is of any comfort and not that you need my imprimatur, but thank you for what is obviously a correct ruling. The motion that perhaps the Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate did not understand was that we take note of the answer. It is a bit hard to be too precise on a motion to take note. Anyhow, I will continue.

I can understand why Senator Bilyk would want to try to protect Senator Conroy from any additional embarrassment. Senator Bilyk, like all the rest of us, wants to forget Senator Conroy's outrageous behaviour. I can understand why the Labor Party would like to obliterate it from the annals of this Senate chamber. Senator Conroy attacked a senior Defence officer, who was really unable to do anything except say, 'I refuse to answer that'. He wanted to say, 'I will treat it with the absolute contempt it deserves' but senior serving military officers do not do that at Senate estimates committees; they show more respect to Senate estimates committee's than Senator Conroy showed at that time. I understand why Senator Bilyk took the point of order to try to stop any recollection of that disgraceful episode in the annals of this Senate.

Again, I am conscious that this is the afternoon for opposition business. Far be it from me to in any way prevent the opposition from whatever business they might happen to have

It seemed to me to be a rather odd strategy that this sort of action would be taken on opposition business day, but so be it.

I will finish by highlighting something that Labor senators who have been here for a while will simply not comprehend. They will not understand that of 616 questions taken on notice at the Senate estimates committee for Senator Cash's portfolio all bar 18 have already been answered, and I am very confident that the other 18 will be answered within the next two weeks. I might say the same for Senator Brandis's portfolio. I know that both ministers will do everything in their power to ensure that the rules of the Senate are followed and that answers are given so that the Senate can operate in the way it should.

Question agreed to.