Emotional Katy Gallagher declares she will 'withstand this line of questioning' in Senate

The Finance Minister and ACT senator choked up and wiped away tears as she said she was "very disappointed this week" while addressing a set of long questions from Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie in question time on Thursday.

It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese again backed his minister, telling Parliament he had "absolute confidence" in her.

The first McKenzie question ended with: "If it's true that you did nothing with the information, why can't you answer basic factual questions about your involvement in this matter?"

Senator Gallagher responded that she answered "probably more questions than many of the people who knew much more than me".

The answer reveals her frustration that she is the current focus on a controversy which erupted while the Coalition was in power and included many Liberal participants.

Senator Gallagher then continued insisting she would not breach the confidentiality of Ms Higgins, nor her partner David Sharaz, who she admits had come to her just before her allegations became public in February 2021.

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"I'm prepared to withstand this line of questioning and coverage for the media, because I am ... well, senator, I don't imagine women come to you with claims and concerns about sexual assault, but they come to me and I will not breach their confidence," she said.

Asked again by Senator McKenzie about "basic factual questions about your involvement in this matter" and "why do you refuse to be held accountable in this chamber?" turned out to be too much for the Minister for Women.

"I ... I am very disappointed this week," Senator Gallagher said, choking up.

"At the work that we have done on Jenkins, on the Respect at Work, on asking women to come forward when something happens to them and then treating women the way they've been treated right now. It says something about this.

"And I am sorry, Senator Reynolds is clearly upset about what happened to her and I told her that. I told her that."

At the time of the alleged incident in 2019, Linda Reynolds was the minister who employed both Ms Higgins and the man she accused, Bruce Lehrmann.

The accused man has always denied the allegations and no findings were made against him after an ACT Supreme Court trial was aborted last year due to jury misconduct.

Amid interjections from the opposition, she also addressed Ms Higgins.

"But I am also very sorry for Brittany Higgins," Senator Gallagher said.

"I'm sorry that documents about her personal life have been leaked.

"I'm sorry that a confidential draft of a claim for compensation found its way to the front pages of a national newspaper and I am sorry for all the women ..."

And then the time for the answer ran out.

And the questions went on.