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The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: My question without notice is directed to the Leader of the Government. Would the Minister outline to the House the extent of his conversation yesterday with the former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and what topics were covered? What other contact has the Minister had with Mr Orkopoulos in the past month?
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: I had no conversations with Mr Orkopoulos yesterday. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition would repay himself well in terms of the dignity of his office and the dignity of this Parliament if he did not persist in the line of questioning he is pursuing. As I have said on a number of occasions in the public arena, it is incumbent on all of us to be respectful of the judicial process that has commenced in relation to quite heinous allegations about a former colleague of all of us in this Parliament. Forget about partisanship. This is about someone who has sat in this Parliament with us until recently. We can make certain decisions and have certain views about these matters but he has the right to a fair trial.
The system is working; he is being treated the same as everybody else. That is the way it should be. That is the way it will be under a reasonable and decent government. If the Deputy Leader of the Opposition persists with this indecent line of questioning, he does so at his peril. I repeat: It is incumbent upon the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to show some responsibility and some leadership and to exercise that leadership properly. He knows the question he asked is improper. He has been put up to it by someone in the other House—the people in the other House do not have any sense of propriety. The fact of the matter is: Mr Orkopoulos has a right to a fair trial. He is hospitalised and obviously has a serious health issue that is a challenge for himself and his family. He is now entitled to go through the judicial process the same as any other citizen.