QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE › Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance and the Public Service, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:52): None of the smear and innuendo that Senator Wong has put to this chamber in any way contradicts the statements that were made by Ministers Cash and Keenan. The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Cormann. I have Senator Collins on a point of order. Senator Jacinta Collins: Thank you, Mr President. I wouldn't ordinarily make this point of order, but this minister, in his earlier statement, referred to me making inappropriate remarks. You fortunately ignored such a suggestion. But now he's talking about smear and innuendo he should be asked to withdraw. The PRESIDENT: The words I recall the minister using were about an action, and in that case I don't consider them to be out of order. I will consider the Hansard if someone wants to make a submission that it was a reflection upon a senator, but I interpreted it as an action rather than a reflection. Senator CORMANN: None of the smear and innuendo that has been put before this chamber actually points to any established fact that would demonstrate that any minister has acted inconsistently with the obligations of the ministerial code. I repeat my answer to a number of previous questions: the Prime Minister has full confidence in his ministers.