Senator CAMERON (New South Wales) (15:09): I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Regional Development (Senator Nash) and the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to questions without notice asked by Senators Watt and Chisholm today relating to the award of contracts to Newlands Civil Construction. This is a very serious issue, and I don't think this issue has been given the due diligence from the Attorney-General in relation to how serious this is. The Attorney-General has dismissed this on a couple of occasions now, and this goes to the very serious issue of whether Senator O'Sullivan has a direct or indirect interest in a range of Commonwealth funded projects that are jointly funded by the state and the Commonwealth. Senator O'Sullivan denied to AAP that he either directly or indirectly holds a pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth. This is not about an agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth; this is about a direct or indirect pecuniary interest. After the questions were asked of Senator O'Sullivan, Senator O'Sullivan updated his pecuniary interests in this area on 16 June 2017, and it says under O'Sullivan and Sons Pty Ltd, 'remove its subsidiary Newlands Civil Construction Pty Ltd'. This was done on 16 June 2017. Newlands Civil Construction has been subcontracted to work on an 80 per cent federally funded government project which is worth about $2.5 million. Senator O'Sullivan went on to say, importantly, that a review by Newlands Civil Construction has proven that it does not hold any agreement with any company or any entity that has an agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth. So what we are expected to do, as Senator Brandis has done, is accept that Barry Jr, the son of Senator O'Sullivan, who is now the managing director of Newlands, says, 'There's nothing to see here; nothing to see here.' This is a company whose managing director, between 1991 and 2013, was Senator O'Sullivan. An opposition senator interjecting— Senator CAMERON: That is correct. That's what the pecuniary interest says. Senator O'Sullivan has, as part of the O'Sullivan family, controlling interests. They are the controlling shareholders in this company. Due process, proper accountability and ensuring that the senator has no direct or indirect interest actually demands more than Barry Jr saying that Barry Sr—that is, Senator O'Sullivan—has no problem. Well, we think that there is more to be seen here. We think there is more to be answered. We agree with Minister Chester, who says that Senator O'Sullivan has an issue that he needs to explain. In my view, he certainly does need to explain why, after questions were asked, the pecuniary interests were changed so quickly. We need to ensure that Senator O'Sullivan is not using his privileged position as a senator to influence contracts and that he is not benefitting from these contracts, one of which is 80 per cent funded— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Cameron, please resume your seat. Senator Brandis? Senator Brandis: Madam Deputy President, as you well know, under standing order 193(3) there is a prohibition against senators using imputations of improper motives or personal reflections on other senators. I ask you to call the senator to order. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Cameron, I ask that you be careful in this area, and perhaps rephrase your comments so that there are no direct imputations. Senator CAMERON: Certainly, Madam Deputy President. These are issues that go to the credibility of the Senate, not just any individual senator. We cannot have a position where any senator is under a cloud in relation to section 44, or any practice that does not meet the requirements of both the Senate and the Constitution. Senator O'Sullivan does need to explain what's going on here. Senator Ian Macdonald: No, he doesn't. Senator CAMERON: Senator Macdonald says, 'No, he doesn't,' need to explain. Well, he does need to explain, because this is a problem that he has that should be resolved. This needs further clarity as to exactly what's going on with this web of companies that he controls. (Time expired)