Mr CREAN (2:09 PM) —My question is to the Treasurer in his capacity as Minister representing the Minister for Finance and Administration.

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr CREAN —They don't like it, Mr Speaker, but they are going to get it.

The SPEAKER —The member for Sturt! The Leader of the Opposition will commence his question again.

Mr CREAN —My question is to the Treasurer in his capacity as Minister representing the Minister for Finance and Administration, and it refers to his answer to my question yesterday as to the source of the bogus Comcar documents. Treasurer, when did you first become aware that it was Wayne Patterson, the Prime Minister's personal driver, who provided the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary with the documents shown to be bogus and the document that was a forgery?

Mr COSTELLO (Treasurer) —Like the Attorney-General, I am not aware of who provided that to Senator Heffernan. I would have thought that, since there is going to be an inquiry by the Australian Federal Police, it might be prudent to actually await the inquiry.

The SPEAKER —The member for Wills!

Mr COSTELLO —For a group of people who are allegedly worried about the abuse of parliamentary privilege, I notice that on three occasions now you have managed to use parliamentary privilege in the hope that the media will use the name of a particular Comcar driver. I notice that on three occasions now, as a deliberate tactic, the Labor Party has used privilege to name a Comcar driver.

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr Martin Ferguson —Some people have got a history of not worrying about forged documents.

The SPEAKER —The member for Batman is, as he would be well aware, warned! It is not necessary for me to draw to the attention of the House the standing orders; everyone is aware of them.

Mr COSTELLO —In continuation—

The SPEAKER —The member for Wills!

Mr COSTELLO —the name that the Leader of the Opposition has just sought to raise under parliamentary privilege in the hope that that will get that name into the media, I consider—

The SPEAKER —I warn the member for Wills!

Mr COSTELLO —They are taking great delight in their success at getting it into the media. I would have thought that one of the lessons that may have been learned on both sides of the parliament over the course of the last couple of days is that it is proper to wait for an investigation to be conducted so that people's rights are respected, whether they be the rights of a High Court judge or whether they be the rights of a Comcar driver. The proper thing might be to actually await the investigation and, as for me and my part, I will await that investigation rather than play the games of the Australian Labor Party which is prepared to use parliamentary privilege to try and blacken people's names when they deserve a proper investigation.