Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I recognise that the Labor Party is putting you in a difficult position, as the Deputy Speaker previously in the chair was happy for the member for Hunter to address leadership issues. I am not seeking to exacerbate the position in which you find yourself, but simply to answer the request by the member for Hunter for me to address the issue of leadership. I am reflecting on the fact that the member for Hunter, as a finance spokesman for the Australian Labor Party, appears to have some significant and pronounced deficits when it comes to character judgement—and perhaps even judgement with respect to policy. If the member for Hunter backs Mark Latham, the former member for Werriwa, then you would have to be concerned about Mr Latham’s decisions and policy statements, which the member for Hunter supports.

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