Senator FAULKNER (3:03 PM) —I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Resources and Energy (Senator Parer), to questions without notice asked today, relating to the financial interests of Senator Parer.

Yesterday, we discovered that Senator Parer's family trust holding company, IMPL, had purchased 2,600 Telstra shares. That was after the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) had expressly prohibited ministers, their staff or proxies from purchasing them. We still have not received the formal letter from the government, from Senator Hill. Hopefully, that will be forthcoming so that the situation will be indicated even more clearly. Senator Hill, after question time yesterday, at least gave some information to the Senate in relation to the instructions that ministers were given.

Senator Parer ran the defence that he did not buy them. He ignored the fact that he was Chairman of IMPL at the time and he owned eight of the nine shares. If that is not tantamount to actually purchasing the shares himself, I do not know what is. Today, we discovered that Senator Parer has ignored yet another of the Prime Minister's instructions—that is, that ministers' staff members should not purchase Telstra shares within 90 days of their first trade.

Mr Baudino, who purchased a certain number of shares at the time of the Telstra float, is a long-time media adviser to Senator Parer, a long-time Liberal Party hatchet man. He has a history in the Liberal Party that goes back a very long way. He was linked very closely with the former Fraser government's information unit.

He is well known for excelling in media management. Earlier this year, on 20 March, he instructed a Commonwealth security guard to eject photographers from Senator Parer's press conference. He prevented press reporters from entering. He only allowed the TV cameras in. That was the press conference, of course, when Senator Parer declared he was considering the option of divesting his portfolio after being caught red-handed. Mr Baudino is well known for threatening journalists if they continue their pursuit of his boss, Senator Parer.

This is the same minister who ignored the Prime Minister's code of ministerial conduct not just once, in relation to having private interests in his portfolio area, but twice, in relation to divesting those interests to family members. He received three separate instructions from the register of senators' pecuniary interests about holdings in his family trust. He ignored all of them.

You have to ask the question: what does this latest revelation about Senator Parer really say about the way he runs his own office? What happens to Senator Parer's correspondence? Is it that he does not actually receive it? Is it that he receives it but he does not read it? Is it that he reads it and does nothing about it? Perhaps he just reads it and ignores it. Certainly, he indicated today that he passed these instructions on to members of his staff.

This is just another flagrant breach by Senator Parer of the Prime Minister's own guidelines. We heard the defence trotted out in question time today: `Oh, well, Mr Keating the former Labor Party Prime Minister was, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, responsible for certain actions four or five years ago. It was good enough for Mr Keating, therefore'—allegedly—`it is good enough for Senator Parer.' This from the government that, up until today, has mounted the consistent defence that they were going to put in place higher ministerial and parliamentary standards, greater accountability and greater transparency. No, not any more. Now they are saying, `It was good enough for one of your number. Senator Parer does not have to conform.' Senator Parer has failed every test. He has failed every test on every occasion. The latest example of Mr Baudino on his staff proves this minister should resign. (Time expired)