Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I have a question for you, Mr Speaker. Ten years after the launch of the Liberal Party’s debt truck, today the Labor Party launched its own debt truck to highlight that foreign debt is now 2½ times what it was in 1996. This morning we were prevented from driving the debt truck past the front of Parliament House on the grounds that ‘advertising is not permitted in the parliamentary precinct’. Security was not used as a reason to prevent access. My questions to you are these. Firstly, given that 10 years ago the Liberal Party was permitted to park a debt truck at the front of Parliament House in the exact location that we were prevented from accessing today, what is the explanation for this apparent double standard? Secondly, what is the definition of advertising? Does this mean that any truck, bus or car that has a political message on it will be banned from the parliamentary precinct? How does this sit with freedom of speech, and what precedent does this set for future protests in the parliamentary precinct?

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