Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition also spoke about a kinder, gentler polity in this parliament, but we have not seen that today; instead we have again seen the power of scaremongering and disrespectful language. I tire of the misogynist language of the Leader of the Opposition—the use of the phrase ‘the knitting circle’, the repeated use of the words ‘she’ and ‘shrill’—which serves to diminish and insult and personalise. It is not good enough.

Then, of course, we have the member Cook wanting to talk today. He was hidden from this parliament for the last couple of days, but he must be getting his act together now. All he wants to do is to say that the policies of the Howard government were successful. No, they were not. We remember SIEVX and we remember TPVs that made people have to beg to survive in this country. It was a ruthless regime that paid absolutely no attention to international events. I think it is shameful that the other side tried to diminish the parliament and diminish this nation. (Time expired)

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