Brandis, Sen George

Senator BRANDIS (Queensland—Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Vice-President of the Executive Council, Minister for Arts and Attorney-General) (14:00): Thank you very much for asking, Senator Conroy. I can tell you all about the Sir Garfield Barwick address, having given the Sir Garfield Barwick address myself. The Sir Garfield Barwick address is not what I would regard as an event of a political character. The fact that the host of the Sir Garfield Barwick address is the New South Wales legal professionals branch of the Liberal Party does not make it a political function. What one should have regard to, if I may say so— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order on my left! Senator BRANDIS: and if I may speak without being bellowed at by Senator Carr over there—is what takes place at the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture. At the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture, a barrister or retired judge gives a speech on a legal or constitutional topic. None of the Sir Garfield Barwick lectures have been of a political character—none of them. If you want to consider the sort of people who give the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture— Senator Conroy interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Conroy, you have asked your question. Senator BRANDIS: the most recent one was the Hon. Murray Gleeson, the former Chief Justice of Australia. The audience of the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture is not the members of the Liberal Party but the members of the New South Wales bar. So I do not doubt for a moment that there is a Liberal Party connection to the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture—of course there is, because it is being promoted by an entity within the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party—but the audience to which it is promoted is not Liberal Party members but barristers. Lastly, the lecture, or the event, is run at cost price. No profit is made from the lecture at all. No funds are raised, and I would not describe something as a fundraiser at which no funds are raised.