Australia politics live: Scott Morrison denies misleading parliament over Brittany Higgins probe – question time

As usual the leader of the opposition seeks to make this a personal attack. That’s his form, that’s his standard, Mr Speaker.

Rather than stick with the substance of issues, Mr Speaker, the leader of the opposition is always quick to smear as he goes across, but that is his case, that is up to him, Mr Speaker.

But I correct him. The commissioner appeared before the Senate estimates, he was asked to debrief the premise on the details of the dossier, Mr Speaker, and my recollection was around the general details.

He was asked was he briefed on the nature that it was a sexual assault. The Commissioner responded from memory, yes.

What we have had consistently from the Opposition today as a whole range of assertions, misconstruction of things that have been said, Mr Speaker, for one simple purpose, to pursue the political objective of the leader of the Opposition. There is no genuine intent that are coming from the Labor leader…

They simply see this as an opportunity for scoring political points. That is the form and character of the leader of the opposition. Mr Speaker, over the course of these many years, when the former prime minister Julia Gillard put in place a very important bipartisan process to deal with the serious issue of protecting women against violence, that process was not only supported by the Coalition, but it was picked up in government with successive action plans totalling more than $1 billion in support and that will continue stopping almost half of that has come in just the last two years.

So instead of engaging in the partisan contest of a smear , Mr Speaker, that the leader of the opposition is seeking to take advantage of these issues, he should remember that the way we address the substance of issues of protecting women against violence is by doing it as prime minister Gillard intended, by doing it together, Mr Speaker.

By working together, whether it is the action plan in this parliament which has had bipartisan support or doing it with the state and territory governments which draws those resources together.

That’s what I’ll remain focused on stopping the leader of the opposition can come in here and through his smears around all he likes, he can go as personal as he likes, Mr Speaker. I don’t intend to get into that gutter with him.