Senator WONG (South Australia—Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (09:52): It's unsurprising that we saw that level of rhetoric and theatrical behaviour from Senator Brandis. It's utterly clear what's happening on the government side: they've had to back down on the royal commission into the banks after engineering a letter from the banks, 'By the way, we've changed our mind'—magically. Did you see? The letter came in, cabinet met and the Prime Minister was up by 9 am. In the meantime, we've got members of the coalition being quite clear publicly, telling the media and the public what they think of Mr Turnbull and what a leader he is or isn't. Senator Brandis says Senator Dastyari is well-schooled in politics. Well, I'll tell you what Senator Brandis is good at: he's good at trying to create a distraction. He's good at trying to blow things up, to distract from the government's woes. That's his job, we understand that. But there was a lot of that in that contribution. I think people, again, will see that Senator Brandis has been a little inclined to overreach on this and a number of other matters. We all remember the New Zealand conspiracy. He has reprised that again today. Senator Brandis interjecting— Senator WONG: I did listen to him in silence, Deputy President. I did give him the courtesy of listening to him in silence on this. I want to deal with some of the matters which have been raised, and I will do so, I trust, without political shine. National security information and the operation of national security agencies are of paramount importance. I am pleased that one boundary the Attorney-General didn't cross was to suggest that the opposition doesn't deal with those matters appropriately, seriously, as an alternative government should. He knows that we do because he engages with us, as do the agencies in his portfolio, in these matters. I make this point, firstly, on the South China Sea. I want to reiterate what Labor's position is: Labor's position is the government position. There is a bipartisan view on how we deal with the South China Sea. I again recognise that Senator Brandis did not assert that there is any deviation between the opposition and the government. Senator Brandis's rhetoric was probably a little harder than Ms Bishop might like. What I would say is that Labor, like the government, has called on all nations to abide by and respect the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which held that Chinese claims surrounding the artificial islands were a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We continue, as does the government, to support the UNCLOS, which includes, obviously, freedom of navigation. The hypocrisy in some of what the Attorney was saying is self-evident. Yesterday we saw the Attorney, Senator Brandis, being asked about a donation by a Chinese donor. Mr Turnbull was sitting next to him, and he professed he didn't have any knowledge of it, despite the fact this has been well publicised in the media. He also waxes lyrical about—I'm not sure what he said; was it foreign influence inside the parliament? I just remind the government that Labor has had a bill to ban foreign donations in this parliament since November 2016. In fact, I think it was put in before Senator Conroy left; is that right? Senator Kim Carr: That's absolutely correct. Senator WONG: Senator Conroy has come up a couple of times today, which he'll probably be very pleased about. I'll probably get a text: 'See—I'm gone but not forgotten.' He was very clear about the need to do that. Senator Farrell has been clear about the need to do that. What are we—a year and a bit down the track? Despite the fire and brimstone we see from the government, that bill has not been progressed, and the government's approach to the issue, which it keeps promising us, still hasn't appeared. I think the last thing we had was: 'It'll come in the spring session.' Well, here we are, still waiting. And I note today on radio Senator Brandis was asked quite directly about the person in question, Mr Huang, donating to both sides of politics, and I think he effectively conceded that Mr Huang has been a donor to the Liberal Party as well. He says, again, that it's not the issue. I do enjoy the way Senator Brandis decides for everybody what the issue is and what the issue isn't. Senator Dastyari did the wrong thing and he has had to pay a price, as he should have. He's had to stand up in the chamber and explain himself, as he should have. It was appropriate that he resign from the frontbench on the previous occasion, and it is appropriate, given what has been disclosed, that he resign as Deputy Opposition Whip and from other parliamentary positions, in light of what has been disclosed. He has done the wrong thing and he has fronted up and he has done what has been asked of him by the Leader of the Opposition, which is to resign from his position. I would, though, remind those opposite—I understand the overreach, but calling the deputy whip a senior frontbencher does make Wacka Williams a senior frontbencher. And, Senator Fawcett—he's a good South Australian colleague; we disagree on many things, but he's a hard worker and a decent operator—that makes you a senior frontbencher too. So there you go! Good on you, Senator Fawcett! Senator Brandis: Senior member of the leadership team. Senator WONG: I actually think that the Prime Minister might have used the phrase 'frontbencher'. So let's keep it in perspective: when you say he came back, he was given the same position as Senator Williams, who has made some pretty strong comments over the years about banking royal commissions and, more recently, Mr Turnbull's leadership; and Senator Fawcett, who hasn't made such comments—he is a much more disciplined operator. I want to remind people that the position Senator Dastyari holds is that of deputy whip; it is an organisational position. Finally, I make this point—and I don't wish to discuss this much publicly: it does appear from media reports that national security information, or information from national security agencies, has made its way into the public arena. I would trust, given the history of such matters and given the legislative framework applying to such matters, that Senator Brandis, as the Attorney-General, will be as persistent and determined in finding out how that has occurred as he has been to point the finger at Senator Dastyari.