Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Let me first deal with this confected outrage and hypocrisy on the part of the Prime Minister and the ministers who have come in here to try to defend the indefensible. The Prime Minister has now started referring to himself, in the third person—as ‘the Prime Minister’. If you watched him on the 7.30 Report last night you would have been amazed at his confected outrage that somebody would dare to question the Prime Minister’s integrity and would actually ask for the Prime Minister to resign. Well, did you know that during 2006 the member for Griffith called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the minister for agriculture? He did it on 15 different occasions in 15 different press conferences, all based on allegations and accusations that were found not to be true. He did this during the course of a royal commission, while the proceedings were on foot, day after day. The member for Griffith—I don’t think he was the Leader of the Opposition at that time—came into this House and moved censure motions, matters of public importance and asked a series of questions making the most egregious accusations against the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He accused them of heinous crimes. He accused them of lying. He accused them of turning a blind eye to the funding of suicide bombers in Iraq. That is the depth to which this Prime Minister was prepared to go. He accused them and implicated the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister in the funding of suicide bombers.

He knew that the royal commission would require that those ministers give evidence. He knew that the making of such heinous allegations in the House every day would be covered by parliamentary privilege yet still be reported on the news at night. He went on and on, not just calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister but actually calling for the Deputy Prime Minister to resign and leave the parliament, and this was all during a royal commission. Then, when the royal commission made no adverse finding against the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, did the member for Griffiths apologise? Did he say, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve overreached; I am sorry I have made these heinous allegations based on no evidence at all’? Did he resign? No. Do you know what he did? He stood for the leadership of the Labor Party. That is the kind of conduct that this government condones.

I turn now to the Treasurer. I witnessed the Treasurer’s brazen evasion of answers in question time today. He refused to answer the most basic, straightforward, simple questions such as, ‘How many car dealers got this kind of treatment, Treasurer?’ Guess how many car dealers? One—the Prime Minister’s used-car dealer mate who is a member of the Prime Minister’s luncheon club, who lives down the road from the Prime Minister, who has given the Prime Minister a free car year after year after year worth thousands of dollars to the Prime Minister. The Treasurer refused to answer any of these questions.

The Australian public would be astounded to learn that, under the Prime Minister’s own Standards of ministerial ethics, a minister is required to provide ‘an honest and comprehensive account’ of his activities in answer to questions from members of parliament. A failure to comply with these standards is considered to be a breach of those ministerial standards. The Treasurer has failed to provide an honest and comprehensive account time after time. I listened to the Treasurer say in parliament on 4 June that the Prime Minister’s used-car dealer mate was treated just like everyone else and his comment, ‘I have no idea what the outcome of that was.’ Evidence that was given under oath in the Senate inquiry contradicted the Treasurer on every single claim that he has made, yet the Australian public will be astonished to find that in the Standards of ministerial ethics ministers are not to mislead the House. It is not only a breach of this House but also a breach of the standards—(Time expired)

See this speech in context