Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I am certainly doing so. This dissent motion, like the others, is not actually about the rules and procedures of this House. It is about an opposition struggling for relevance, a divided opposition obsessed with itself, determined to look outward in order to distract from its own inefficiencies and its own inadequacies. We saw it on display again today with the questions that were asked by those opposite. As usual, they left the low-grade stuff to the end, as they always do.

We have heard from those opposite that there was going to be an attempt to refer this matter to the Privileges Committee. Have we heard anything from those opposite advancing those arguments? Nothing whatsoever. It is actually the occurrences in this parliament that are the responsibility of this parliament; occurrences outside are being investigated by the police. And it is appropriate that that be the case.

We opposite have said that we are quite prepared for there to be scrutiny of occurrences in this chamber, but there will be scrutiny of all the occurrences in this chamber, including, might I add, what appears to be the draft Hansard that was changed on 28 May. Mrs Mirabella is in Hansard interjecting, ‘You pathetic man hater,’ across the chamber. You will not actually find that in the real Hansard. You will not find that because it has been expunged and changed. Perhaps that is why we have not heard any matter with regard to privileges.

The fact is that this dissent motion reflects an opposition leader in an increased state of desperation—an opposition leader who has been rejected because of the negative, carping role that they are playing, being prepared to blow a $22 billion hole in the surplus. We know that the shadow Treasurer, the person who wants to be the Leader of the Opposition, is clearly already out there holding focus groups about himself in Melbourne.

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