Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The question I was asked concerned my confidence in the Treasurer. I affirmed that in my opening statement in response to this question. The member for North Sydney, who desperately does not want to hear this, was asked another question by Tony Jones last night. Jones said:

This is what Mr Turnbull said on AM this morning: ‘I’ve certainly spoken to Mr Grech, I know Mr Grech.’

That is the attribution to the Leader of the Opposition. Jones asked:

It is still unclear, though, what he spoke to him about. Do you, Mr Hockey, know what that was about?

Joe Hockey’s answer was this—another unqualified statement of solidarity and support:

Well, that’s a matter for Malcolm Turnbull and Godwin Grech, isn’t it?

That is what I would call 100 per cent loyalty! You know that if you are in a scrap you would want the member for North Sydney standing loyally behind you. What a rock solid wall of defence he represents!

On this matter, not only has the integrity—that which remains—of the Leader of the Opposition been fundamentally shattered by this forged email affair; on top of that his authority within the Liberal Party has been destroyed. On three major matters before this parliament, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, alcopops and immigration policy, his authority is so undermined he cannot even unite his party and unite the coalition in a single vote—and they are so desperate on the CPRS that they voted in the Senate to avoid voting. I say to those opposite who raise these matters that the Leader of the Opposition’s integrity has disappeared; his authority has disappeared. There is one reasonable thing for him to do under these circumstances: to stand, to apologise and to resign.

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