Mr McClelland (Barton) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in writing, on 31 May 2007:
Can he confirm that in or about mid-December 2004, he telephoned Mr Stewart to inform him that the Prime Minister had received correspondence from the Volcker inquiry; if so, how long prior to that telephone call had the Prime Minister received correspondence from the Volcker inquiry.
Mr Downer (Mayo—Minister for Foreign Affairs)—The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows:
I refer the honourable member to the relevant section of the Cole report – “Cooperation with the IIC” – which deals with the Government’s response to the request for information from the IIC. (Vol 3, pp358-359)