A Senate committee has been asked to determine whether Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos is in contempt of parliament by refusing to appear before an upper house inquiry.
The Liberal frontbencher refused last week to give evidence to a Senate inquiry that specifically directed his appearance to answer questions about political donations to the Liberal party.
The Senate on Wednesday backed a Labor motion to refer the matter to the privileges committee to determine whether he disobeyed a lawful order without excuse.
The government opposed the motion, with frontbencher Scott Ryan labelling the decision to call Senator Sinodinos to appear before the inquiry "unprecedented and objectionable".
It was "manifest absurdity" that an inquiry into political donations was allocated a one-day hearing and it was obvious any serious attempt to investigate the matter could not occur in such a "ludicrously" short period of time.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"This was just a blatant political stunt," he said.
Senator Sinodinos said he had yet to receive any notice from the committee but would deal with it when he did.
He reiterated his reasons for not showing up, including the lack of notice.
The senator said he'd already answered questions at the NSW anti-corruption hearing.
"As far I was concerned we were doing whatever we were to make sure we didn't receive donations from people we should not be receiving donations from," he told Sky News.
