Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Although this is not the purpose of my seeking the call tonight, it draws a similar comment—I want to talk about the trend in this House to rely on personal denigration of one’s critics as a defence of one’s personal or administrative failings. I cannot ignore today’s request by the minister for health for leave to make a ministerial statement. Beyond most of her colleagues on the front bench, this minister tends to allocate five per cent of her answers, to questions from either side, to her government’s performance on health services and the remaining 95 per cent to a virulent attack based on her version of the past practices of members of the Howard government. Were I her mentor, I would advise her to return to her office to listen to some of these contributions and suggest she might audition for the position of the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz.

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