Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Hansard source

As I understand it, we are now in the consideration in detail stage and we are supposed to be talking about the appropriations. The minister's speech was very nicely read, but I hardly think it was relevant to anything we have been addressing. The minister said at the beginning that he had answered my questions about Mr Oakeshott's personal staffing arrangements, and I disagree. We do not know whether or not Mr Oakeshott was given extra staff as a result of these budget allocations, which enabled him to put on extra staff after the last election in New South Wales. I specifically request an answer to that and, if he does not have it—or if any of those people sitting at the back cannot give it to him—then I would like to place that question formally on notice. I think we deserve an answer to that. With regard to the question about Ms Lampe, clearly the answer must be that the poor old Prime Minister is so incompetent that she needs two chiefs of staff, whereas when poor old Mr Rudd was bundled out the door, his chief of staff was sacked that same night. Maybe Mr Rudd was more competent than Ms Gillard and you knew it right from the beginning.

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