SENATOR PENNY WONG, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE: Can I first make a comment about the China Free Trade Agreement. Some seven months ago the Government announced the signing of the Chinese Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that has been negotiated under both parties of government over the last decade.

At the time we said the Government should release the text so that the Australian people can see the full details of this agreement. Well, months later Australians are finally going to get to see it.

Labor recognises the importance of China to our future prosperity. We will look at this agreement closely. We will assess it in the national interest and our key test will be: will it grow jobs, will it grow the economy.

There are a number of issues which warrant attention. First and foremost is the effect on the Australian labour market. Labor supports temporary skilled migration to fix skill shortages. That scheme should never be used as a mechanism to bypass local workers and we will certainly be looking at the detail of that. And as Ive said previously, Labor does not support Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses in agreements.

We look forward to considering the text through the parliamentary processes now that the Governments finally seen fit to release it to the Australian people.

I also want to comment on a particular vote in the Senate late yesterday in which the entire Senate crossbench voted for two inquiries into the activities of George Brandis.

Now, you have to be doing something pretty concerning to even get the vote of Senator Bob Day, who is well known for his support for the Government. All eight crossbenchers voted with the Opposition to put Senator Brandis under scrutiny in relation to his arts slush fund, but also into the extraordinary misleading of the Australian Parliament, both chambers of the Australian Parliament, for a number of days when he refused to disclose the incorrect evidence about the Man Monis letter.

Senator Brandis, I think, has demonstrated even to the entirety of the crossbench that he is a minister who cannot be trusted to tell truth to the Australian Parliament in a prompt and timely manner.

Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

WONG: I think Senator Brandis, he hung around for three days, after being advised that evidence to the Parliament was incorrect and I think that is not a standard that is acceptable in any Westminster system.