Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was a riveting contribution by the member for Jagajaga. She is always somewhat less than an inspiration. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance because it is important. This government is absolutely committed to education. This government takes the decisions that are necessary to drive this country forward. If you are going to have a strong education system, you need to have a policy. You do not just go around the countryside telling people what they want to hear. You need to take the tough decisions and decide your priorities and sometimes priorities can be difficult. Choosing between alternatives can be difficult. But what do we hear from the Leader of the Opposition? What do we hear from the members opposite? They just wander the countryside telling all who will listen exactly what they want to hear with no intention of delivering anything.

Good education policy needs a rigorous approach. Good education policy needs a grasp of the detail. We saw the Leader of the Opposition fail in this House today. He came into question time and asked questions on education based on a false premise. He did not have the facts. He did not understand. Just as he did not understand productivity and just as he was found clueless today on tax policy, he has proved he is clueless on education. He is nothing but a policy fraud. He is nothing but a projected image. He is a disgrace. He is a weak leader and he is a disgrace. He mouths the words scripted by Hawker Britten but does not understand them. He is the gutless fraud of Australian politics. He wanders the country, as I said, telling people what they want to hear and then he disappears without providing a solution—except perhaps for a policy review or a new bureaucracy. He does not take on the challenge of advancing this nation. He merely cowers before the unions in telling them what they want to hear. He is a weak leader. He is a gutless leader. He is a fraud. He had to get the member for Grayndler today to rescue him from his question time mess. He is so hopeless that he had to send out the member for Grayndler to rescue him. Goodness me!

If you are running a trillion dollar economy, you cannot just run away. You cannot just halt question time and pull on some rather dubious dissent motion. You cannot run away when you are running a trillion dollar economy. That is what we saw from the Leader of the Opposition today. He had to send out his strong man—the member for Grayndler—to try and rescue him. Such was his disaster in question time today. The Leader of the Opposition is a weak leader—a leader who can talk the talk but does not walk the walk. We know he is a patsy for the union movement—

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