The Cabinet Handbook is designed to ensure that the Federal Cabinet observes conventions and principles and fulfils its central purpose of informed decision-making.

Peter Brent asks would a stronger prime minister pull Peter Dutton into line?

The former Federal Water Minister, Barnaby Joyce, approved the $17 million purchase of water in the Warrego valley, after criticising the Labor government for the same thing. This was a deal that required amendments to the Basin Plan to later adjust Basin Plan limits between valleys, outside the parliamentary process.

Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are entrusted with the conduct of public business and must act in a manner that is consistent with the highest standards of integrity and propriety. The public, quite rightly, has high expectations of them, in terms of their personal conduct and decorum.

This report examines the conduct of the Federal Communications Minister, Mitch Fifield, and whether he conformed to the Principles of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, in relation to his knowledge of former Senator, Stephen Parry's dual-citizenship status.